People's Democracy

EDITORIAL

SC Order: Setback To VHP Plan

IT is a tragedy that things have come to such a pass in the country under this Vajpayee government's (mis)governance. The people are expected to be gratified and honoured that the government of the day has announced that it shall implement the directions of the Supreme Court of India! Pray, what else is the job of the government but to implement, uphold and safeguard the law of the land? The government is doing no favour to anybody by stating that it shall implement the law of the land. Small mercies! 

In this context, one needs to recollect, once again, one infamous  Machiavellian dictum. He had once stated that in order to consolidate one's rule, the ruler must first create amongst the people the horror that he is capable of creating. Having roused people's fear, the ruler should then proceed not to do the worst that he is capable of. The people will then heave a sigh of relief and sing praises to the greatness of the ruler! Such is this Vajpayee government!

The Supreme Court has now rejected with virtual contempt the centre's plea for vacation of its March 2002. The court order had directed the government that status quo must be maintained on the 67 odd acres of land acquired around the disputed Babri Masjid/Ramjanmabhoomi site and that no actual or symbolic religious activity must be permitted on any part of this land. 

Instead of upholding this order, the Vajpayee government moved for its vacation! Clearly, this government was expressing its blatant partisanship with the VHP and other RSS tentacles who have declared unambiguously that they shall proceed with the construction of the temple whose sanctum sanctorum will rest precisely on the disputed land, irrespective of the court's orders.

Couching this real intention, the Vajpayee government pleaded with the Supreme Court that the circumstances at the time of the earlier Supreme Court order in 2002, which were marked by high-voltage communal tensions, no longer exist. The Supreme Court has rightly rejected this argument. The VHP-led communal bandwagon relentlessly pursues its inflammatory agenda.

In this context, one needs also to recollect that the prime minister is on record, saying that the construction of the temple at Ayodhya was a reflection of "national sentiment." It, therefore, comes as no surprise that his government should facilitate the process for temple construction, violating the cardinal principles of the law of the land by equating communal fundamentalist Hindu sentiment with national sentiment. Vajpayee thus echoed the diabolic RSS proposition that only Hindus are truly national.  The patriotism of all others is not merely suspect; they are as good as being anti-national. Those who continue to be so naïve as to look for ‘moderates’ and ‘hard-liners’ among the BJP leaders will do well to keep this in mind. 

The Supreme Court's rejection of the government's plea was not only to maintain communal harmony but also to "fulfil other objectives of the (1993) Act." These include the fact that the acquired land around the disputed area must be under governmental control in order to ensure the accessibility to the disputed land in the event the case of title suits is decided in favour of the Muslims. In legal terms, this means that the adjudication process should not be rendered infructuous by the existence of properties belonging to the Hindus in the vicinity should the case go in favour of the Muslims.

Notwithstanding such complete lack of ambiguity in the orders of the apex court, various tentacles of the RSS octopus threaten to disregard the court verdict and to force the Vajpayee government to overrule the court order through a legislation in parliament granting the acquired land to the VHP and the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas. It must also be remembered that this acquired land does not belong to the VHP or other organisations now claiming it. Most of this land was acquired by the Kalyan Singh government in the name of developing a so-called ‘Ram Katha Park’ and given to the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas on a token payment of Re 1. They today behave as though they are being denied the fundamental right to their land!

Any attempt by the Vajpayee government to bring in a parliamentary legislation overruling the court order is tantamount to undermining the very constitution under whose oath this government exists. The ramifications of this would be worse than the injudicious exercise Rajiv Gandhi indulged in through a parliamentary legislation overruling the Supreme Court judgement in the Shahbano case.

The Vajpayee government has no other option but to strictly implement these orders of the Supreme Court. Given its track record, however, one must be wary of the diabolic subterfuge it will indulge in, in order to circumvent or subvert the court orders. This cannot be allowed. If this government is incapable of upholding or refuses to uphold the Indian constitution and the law of the land, then for the sake of India, i e, Bharat, it must be shown the door.