Opinion The centre cannot hold

The government then graciously compromised and began negotiations with the Hazare team in a transparent fashion. The difficulty,as I said at that time,was that the civil society leaders having got a victory,started overplaying their cards and putting deadlines. It has to be pointed out that things are neither easy nor quick if you want to do them properly. Legislation has to be carefully drafted,then debated and passed by Parliament. This does not imply an indefinite delay,but careful scrutiny.

But as that process was taking its course,we now have the FUD by Baba Ramdev. This intervention,though no doubt sincere,seems misguided. It adds new arbitrary demands such as bringing back black money to what was an ongoing discussion about the Lokpal. Bringing back black money may be desirable,but is not easy nor is it under control of the GoI. It has taken the US and Germany long negotiations with the Swiss authorities to get at the data on tax evaders; the UK is still in the process of doing so. These international negotiations are lengthy and complex. Indeed even the definition and measurement of the amount of black money are uncertain matters.

Then,there is the issue of whether the Prime Minister should or should not be within the purview of the Lokpal. These are not issues which can be decided by a count of Twitter messages someone receives. These are complex issues on which consultations are necessary,not just with fasting holy men but state governments and Opposition parties which have so far been frozen out of the dialogue.

If the government was hesitant in the case of Anna Hazare,it seems to have lost its nerve in the case of Baba Ramdev. That four Cabinet ministers should go to receive him at the airport and begin discussions sounds like unconditional surrender even before a single shot has been fired (or a single meal missed). What is the government afraid of? If this goes on,what is to prevent some other swami or sadhvi to threaten another FUD and we can go on interminably like that. Governments are meant to govern,not to abdicate responsibility to whoever can gather a mob in their support even if that mob is created by mobile phones.

The only guess I can make as to why the UPA is being craven before Baba Ramdev but was tough with Anna Hazare is that Baba Ramdev is is a potential political force. The UPA,or rather the Congress,has a simple Manichean view of the world in which there is only one enemy—the BJP/Hindutva forces. It conducts itself constantly with an eye on the political advantage to be gained by showing up the BJP at a disadvantage. Thus far it has frozen the BJP out of the discussion on the Lokpal issue (This was a blunder by the Hazare team who should have asked for inclusion of Opposition leaders in the negotiations).

Baba Ramdev is his own man; but if he has any preference,it is with RSS and BJP. This is why the government is running around with meek voices after him begging favours. The UPA is worried that its carefully preserved hegemony could be blown by Ramdev and that in turn would bring Gadkari & co. back into the frame. I could be wrong but I doubt it.