Opinion Cabinet reshuffle

There have been mixed reactions to the Cabinet reshuffle. Some political parties,especially the BJP,have branded it as a damp squib,and evidence of a weak Prime Minister,although some ministers have been politically shown the door and others have been shifted against their wishes. It is significant that no DMK minister has been appointed in any of the key ministries,some of which have been involved in the corruption scandals. The Prime Minister of a coalition government has a tough job to perform in cabinet formation. I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s famous words,“Reconstructing a Cabinet is like solving a kaleidoscopic jigsaw puzzle.”

Who runs the government?

According to Rahul Gandhi,the UP government is run by dalals for the benefit of big builders to the detriment of the interests of the farmers. DMK supremo Karunanidhi bitterly complains that the government is run by the media which exercises undue influence in the government’s decision making and the exit of Dayanidhi Maran is cited as an instance. Political class and bureaucrats believe the government of the country is run and ruined by the judiciary whose orders and directions encroach upon the domain of the executive. Its recent judgment appointing two retired Supreme Court judges on the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the Hasan Ali case and black money stashed in foreign banks has mightily ruffled the feathers of the government which is said to be contemplating a review of the judgment. The

legal fraternity has generally hailed the judgment,but is upset about certain observations which are ideological in nature and have a political flavour.

A democratic government is supposed inter alia to be ‘by the people’. In the present scenario,one wonders what is the role of ‘We,the people’ in running the government. An alert and active citizenry has a vital role to play in ensuring proper governance by mobilising public opinion by debate and discussion,not by ultimatums of indefinite fasts.

US Supreme Court

Judgments of the US Supreme Court have traditionally been controversial,especially when they deal with the Bill of Rights. In its recent judgment,the Court ruled that government cannot prohibit violence or sexual scenes associated with violence in video games. The judgment was 8:1. Parents and some conservative groups are expectedly quite disappointed.

In the United States of late there has been some distrust and apprehension about class action suits. This trend is attributed to the reaction of the Bench and the Bar to publicity hungry or money grabbing lawyers eager to file class action suits. Over one million women employees had filed a class action suit against Walmart,one of the biggest corporations in the world. The women alleged that they were prejudicially discriminated against in respect of promotions,general treatment and other benefits. The US Supreme Court held that when issues of discrimination are involved,which are unique to each case,litigants should not file class action suits but instead file civil suits. The judgment reflects the Court’s scepticism about class actions,all of which surely cannot be attributed to money grabbing lawyers seeking publicity. Incidentally,who does not seem to relish publicity? It is a common human frailty which also afflicts some judges of the High Court and also of the apex Court.