Vote of confidence

The opportunity in CVC verdict and DMK exit

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should use the opportunity provided by the Supreme Court’s verdict, on the appointment of P J Thomas as chief vigilance commissioner (CVC) of India, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s threat, to withdraw its ministers from the Union cabinet and offer outside support, to seek a vote of confidence from Parliament. The PM and his government will, in fact, secure that vote of confidence, both because no political party wants the life of the present Lok Sabha to end, and also because the ruling Congress Party still has numbers with it. In seeking and securing a new vote of confidence, the Manmohan Singh government would also secure a new lease of life. The government has been battered, beleaguered, demoralised and directionless in the past few months. The PM has set in motion several correctives that will help improve governance in future. However, a renewal of Parliamentary support at this point will boost the government’s and, indeed, the PM’s morale and legitimacy.

Before seeking such a renewal of mandate, the PM has to attend to some housekeeping. The huge embarrassment caused to him personally and to his government on account of the CVC appointment fiasco was entirely on account of the incompetence, if not ill-intentions, of those who were responsible for the file work. Heads must roll. The fact of the matter is that the Supreme Court has rapped the government on the knuckles. The PM has done well to take responsibility, but he must demand administrative accountability as well.

In giving its landmark judgement, the Court has laid down a selection principle that is not necessarily satisfactory. The principle of majority vote negates the essence of the consultative process. In Andhra Pradesh, Telugu Desam leader Chandrababu Naidu has refused to participate in a similar exercise because the ruling party had used the majority principle to overrule his objections as leader of the opposition. If the 2-1 principle is applied, the leader of the opposition would have no role to play apart from expressing her dissent. It would, therefore, be wise on the part of the PM to declare, when he speaks in Parliament on the issue that he respects the idea of consensus and would prefer that in future to the idea of majority vote, even though the Supreme Court has upheld the latter principle.

What the CVC appointment issue highlights is the need for eternal vigilance on the part of the government, especially the PM, in the appointment of persons to such institutions of governance. The critics of the government are right when they argue that the CVC should, in fact, like Caesar’s wife, not only be above board but be seen and believed to be so. There has been a dilution of institutions and governance in India over time. The time has come for the PM to inject new life into key institutions of governance in India, starting with his own office. This done, the government, in fact, can use the vote on the Union budget as a vote of confidence, for after all getting the finance bill through is vital for the government’s survival. A new vote of confidence at this stage will stabilise the government, give it a new purpose and help clean the air and the dust.