Editor,
With the swearing in of the 72 ministers at the Centre, the speculation and expectations of the general public are high. Historically it’s evident that progressive and welfarist policies were minted either by a coalition government or a minority government.
Evidently, the Leader of Opposition in the Parliament was given statutory status only in 1977 under the Janata Party government; right to property was delisted from the fundamental rights and enlisted as a constitutional right under Article 300A in 1978; the Mandal Commission, which ensured reservation for backward classes, got implemented under the VP Singh government; and the 1998 Pokhran 2 gave India nuclear stalwart status under the NDA government.
With the formation of the new coalition era after a decade of electoral autocracy, people took a breath of relief, expecting lesser arbitrariness. While the most serious threat to this coalition seems fragmentation or defection, which the current dispensation was prepared for, it came with a fragmented but resilient strategy.
The 91st Constitutional Amendment Act restricted the number of the Council of Ministers to 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha, ie, 81. The ‘chief’ deliberately tucked away nine berths that could be used for horse trading or allurement, ahead of time of need.
Nevertheless, the public is optimistic of the endeavours of those who swore to god and the Constitution to ensure a secular establishment (abandoning identity politics); unity (no more ‘mangalsutra’ and ‘musalmaan’ politics); integrity (douse ethnic rivalry in Manipur, overhaul Ladakh); and democracy (ensuring a level playing field in respect to opposition and their assets).
Pombu Tai Kampung