ULTIMATELY, in politics, the logic of numbers prevails, so there is no doubt that Pratibha Patil will be our next president. But when was the last time a prime minister had to defend his presidential candidate by arguing that all sugar industry was suffering from a slump. Does that imply that it is okay if all sugar mill owners default on their loans? And, if so, why not announce a loan waiver for the sugar sector? Or, will we then institute a policy of loan write-offs for any sector of the industry that faces a slump?

Since the Congress now seems determined to brazen it out, there seems no doubt that Pratibha Patil will be our next president. At the same time, let there be no doubt that her tenure as president will be the most controversy-ridden in the history of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Nobody can predict the fall-out of some of these controversies, particularly those that happen to be under judicial scrutiny. It is one thing to have someone holding a conventional political position, a minister, a chief minister, exposed to those risks. But the president of the Republic?

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Election Commissioner and the President are three positions where incumbents must not carry any baggage of the past that could ever raise any question about their judgment; that would ever give somebody the justification to point a finger at their judgment, their fairness and detachment. You and I know the Congress has many senior leaders who will question these doubts with great articulation. You and I also know there aren’t many who are doing this with any degree of comfort or conviction.

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