Let's look at some of the statements made by leaders of parties constituting the UPA in the past week or ten days, when it became clear that the nuclear deal is not going through, at least for the present. There was an interesting interview (Walk the Talk, on NDTV) done by the editor-the-chief of this newspaper, Shekhar Gupta, with the Tamil Nadu chief minister. M. Karunanidhi openly said he had “reservations” about the deal right from the beginning. At least a couple of other party leaders, representing UPA constituents, and themselves members of the cabinet, have also expressed their reservations, although not in such explicit terms. Indeed, even Congress spokespersons, who were vociferously supporting the deal, have been mute recently, now that the deal appears to be off; or at least placed in the backburner. One notes that it is only the prime minister who has recently been extolling the virtues of the agreement. So, suddenly it appears that none from the ruling coalition is keen on the nuclear deal, except the PM himself.
Leaving aside political nuances, where does this leave the concept of collective cabinet responsibility? Before the 123 agreement was accepted it was cleared by the cabinet. It has not been made public if any cabinet minister strongly, or even mildly, opposed the agreement. But suddenly cabinet ministers are expressing doubts about the utility of the arrangement. Did they not know of “potentially negative” aspects when they approved the decision? Have any facts surfaced over the past ten days, to bring new doubts in the minds of the decision-makers regarding the value of the deal? On the face of it, it is appalling to see constituents of the ruling coalition, some of them themselves members of the Union cabinet, distancing themselves from a specific decision to which they have been a party. Whatever their reasons, the result is that the prime minister is in an embarrassing position.
I am not addressing here the issues relating to the merits of the deal or the political aspects thereof. My point is that the concept of collective cabinet responsibility has been thrown to the winds. The cabinet is a sacred institution in a democracy; there is room for debate in the cabinet before a decision is taken. However, every cabinet member is jointly and severally part of the decision, and cannot, even by implication, dissociate himself from the decision of which he...
