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April      Last updated: April 29,  5:00 p.m.

NDA must democratise its decision-making processes

Shyam Khosla

Shiv Sena's angry outburst against the functioning of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has taken the BJP by surprise. Lashing out at the BJP-led alliance's decision-making processes, the Sena last week demanded that the NDA's Coordination Committee first discuss major policy decisions before placing them before the Cabinet. Speaking on behalf of the Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, its parliamentary leaders Sanjay Nirupam and Anand Geete took strong exception to Home Minister L.K. Advani welcoming the proposed mahajot in West Bengal on the ground that the BJP should have consulted other alliance partners before seeking an alliance with the Congress to which the Sena and several other regional outfits had all along been opposed. Obviously recognising that it cannot be the arbiter of BJP's coalition strategy outside Maharashtra, the Sena let it be known that it would not relish BJP linking up with the Congress in Maharashtra where it has an alliance with the Sena.

Not only that, it even questioned BJP's perception of President Clinton's highly successful visit and asked the Vajpayee Government to take the initiative by declaring Pakistan a terrorist state and breaking off ties with it before asking USA to do the same. Rail and bus services between India and Pakistan, it demanded, should be discontinued as the Government had repeatedly said that these were being used by ISI to smuggle arms and ammunition to promote cross- border terrorism.

The Sena's sharpest attack, however, is on the Union Government's decision to hike prices of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies on certain farm inputs. It, albeit belatedly, supported the demand of oes of essential commodities and sharply es of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies on certain farm inputs. It, albes of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies on certain farm inputs. It, albeit belatedly, supported the demand of oes of essential commodities and sharplyes of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies on certain farm inputs. It, albees of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies on certain farm inputs. It, albeit belatedly, supported the demand of o crucial meetings.

Wake-up call

The Sena's unhappiness with the BJP may not be entirely over the issues it has chosen to go public on. There may be certain hidden and not so hidden reasons for its disillusionment with the functioning of the alliance. One of the widely held perceptions is that the Sena chief is unhappy with the BJP's Maharashtra leadership for reasons well known to all concerned. Be what it may, the BJP cannot afford to brush aside the Shiv Sena's stringent criticism for the latter is not only its oldest ally but also the only regional outfit in the NDA with which it has close ideological affinity. Although the relations between the two parties have not been as warm as they used to be, further worsening of relations between the saffron parties may hurt them both. It is a wake-up call for both of them to mend their fences. Leaders of both the parties at various levels must meet more often to rebuild the bridges of understanding and to find ways to remove irritants.

Shiv Sena's suggestion that the Coordination Committee of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) must discuss all major policy issues before the Cabinet takes any decision on them is not without merit. It is no one's case that sensitive issues concerning the security of the country and relations with foreign powers be discussed threadbare in the NDA. But Shiv Sena has a point when it insists that alliance partners should have been taken into confidence before the Government decided to raise prices of essential commodities and sharply reduce subsidies that must adversely affect their vote-banks.

The parties constituting the NDA have little ideological affinity. They have come together on a common minimum programme called the National Agenda of Governance. The Agenda deals with various issues in general terms. It is, therefore, not surprising that coalition partners have different perceptions of issues concerning the economy and welfare of the people and naturally want to be consulted before a final decision is taken by the Cabinet. The argument that all allies are represented in the Government and that they are free to press their viewpoint in the Cabinet meetings does not hold water. Firstly, top leaders of all the allies are not in the Government and therefore, their concerns cannot be effectively addressed. Secondly, ministers may express opinions at the Cabinet meetings but they cannot oppose the official line beyond a limit unless they are prepared to quit.

Coalition dharma

The proposed process of consultation with alliance partners will be time-consuming and will entail delays. But this cannot be helped if a coalition of about two dozen parties is to work cohesively and effectively. In any case, delays caused by prior consultation will hurt less than unseemly public criticism of Government decisions by coalition partners. The Sena is not the first alliance partner to kick up a public row over harsh decisions taken by the Government. Several other parties like the TDP and TMC have done it in harsher tones. Democratisation of the decision-making processes of NDA is the only plausible solution.

Having said that one must remind the alliance partners of the coalition dharma. It is unfair to expect the leading party alone to make all the compromises and give concessions even while the smaller parties of the alliance do not refrain from going public with their reservations and criticism of Cabinet decisions. As argued above, every party in the NDA must be given an opportunity to express its views on a subject under discussion at the appropriate forum namely the Coordination Committee. But once the decision is taken on the basis of a broad consensus, it is the duty of every partner to stand by that decision. Alliance partners must realise that in a coalition every party has to make compromises with its policies and commitments so as to arrive at a consensus.

The BJP has gone a bit too far in this respect to ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government. Other parties must also learn, and learn fast, to exercise restrain and remember that they are in a ruling alliance and no longer in the Opposition. The argument that smaller parties have to make noises in public to keep their supporters in good humour does not hold water. Has the BJP no constituency to look after? Can it afford to annoy its cadres and vote-bank to keep the coalition floating? Why should it take all the blame for unpopular and harsh decisions taken in the national interest? Should not the credit and the responsibility for all Government decisions be shared by all the alliance partners?

Take the party into confidence

As a national party with a clear-cut ideology and committed cadres, BJP is in an unenviable position in this regard. Most of its senior leaders who spent decades in building the party at State and national levels are in the Government. It is, therefore, not surprising that some of them think that they are the ‘party’ and, therefore, there is no need for them to take the party into confidence even on vital issues. This thinking was reflected in the draft of the Chennai Declaration that went to the extent of saying that BJP workers realise that they have no ideology outside the National Agenda of Governance. That these and similar totally unacceptable references had to be dropped in the face of severe criticism from several party leaders is yet another manifestation of the fact that the BJP is a party of ideologically committed cadres.

The point is that it is not only the smaller parties in the NDA but also the leading party -the BJP-must be taken into confidence on all major issues before these are taken to the Cabinet. Will it not be too much to expect the party and its workers to go to the people to defend Government's unpopular and harsh decisions without the minimum courtesy of consulting them and taking their views into serious consideration? It is not a formality to be observed. It will have to become part of the party and the NDA's work culture if the coalition experiment is to succeed. Lack of transparency and consultations in the decision-making processes of the Congress led to its downfall. The BJP cannot afford to follow that dangerous path. The nation has very high expectations of the party and its leadership. The BJP leadership in and outside the Government, one hopes, will come up to the people's expectations.