22 Mar 2005

Kalam forgets the children

For a short while and worries, instead, about how governments are being cobbled together nowadays. He should do this sort of thing more often. He does not name names, but he doesn't need to. Jharkhand is still fresh in everyone's memory I suppose. The way the BJP grappled the independents to its heart, almost with hoops of steel, was indeed not very edifying. I hasten to add, I don't think the Congress would have done anything less, many think it already did worse by inviting Mr Soren. But coming back to the safe-keeping of the independents, that is not how it is supposed to be, is it? The independents are supposed to come to a decision on their own, after reflecting on the issues on which they ran their campaigns and then going with whichever of the two combinations (BJP+/Congress+) they felt presented the best possibility of addressing the issues. The roles of the two combinations should have been to simply be open to discussions with the independents. Holding them in a firm grip in the case of one, and trying to pry them out in the case of the other was opportunistic at a minimum and cynical at best. Both the sides have people who seem to be above these things - but they seem to be sleeping - or in the midst of a pregnant pause.

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