Commentary/T V R Shenoy

Not since the Mughal viceroy Shaista Khan has an Indian general had to hide behind skirts

Or why India's defence minister needs protection

Twenty-four hours after the Mayawati-led Bharatiya Janata Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance ministry was sworn in, there was a hilarious public meeting in Allahabad. It was addressed by some of the biggest guns in the United Front -- including the prime minister and Comrade Harkishen Singh Surjeet.

But it isn't who was there that makes it so funny. It is what they said. With one accord everyone was defending our beloved defence minister.

"We will live and die with Mulayam Singh Yadav," said the prime minister.

"We have a United Front government at the Centre," Comrade Surjeet comforted him, "and they can't have the guts to harm you!"

Concrete reassurance came from someone who may not be a big gun but knows all about handling one. "We will set them right," Phoolan Devi declared, "if they mean any harm to my father Mulayam Singhji!"

Since the Mughal viceroy Shaista Khan took refuge in his harem to escape Chattrapati Shivaji, no Indian general has had to hide behind skirts. But now the defence minister of India is in such straits that even women feel the urge to protect him!

Protect Mulayam Singh Yadav? Defend the "ladla of Uttar Pradesh?" Shield the spearhead of "secularism?"

That is right. A month or two ago, Mulayam Singh Yadav was monarch of all he surveyed. He ruled Uttar Pradesh through his proxy, Governor Romesh Bhandari. He even plotted, with Sitaram Kesri to upset Deve Gowda, and install a more "friendly" government.

Then he heard about the BJP-BSP pact. I am reliably told that his first reaction was disbelief. This was followed by sheer panic.

There is good reason for Mulayam Singh to be scared. As long as Romesh Bhandari ruled, the Samajwadi Party boss knew none of the investigations against him would go anywhere.

No charges have been filed in the Ayurveda scam case for instance. And the probe on the murderous attack on Mayawati in 1995 was quietly buried.

A BJP-BSP government will be much tougher. Whatever their other differences, both the BJP and the BSP came to office swearing to crack down on crime.

Which is why Mulayam Singh Yadav came up with a brainwave. Communications Minister Beni Prasad Verma was packed off to Kalyan Singh. The BJP leader was told that the governor had suddenly decided to invite him to form a government!

The cynical calculation was that Kalyan Singh would jump at the lure of office. This news would break the BJP-BSP alliance.

The ploy failed because of two men. First, Kalyan Singh is no Vaghela (or Mulayam Singh Yadav!) to seek power so nakedly. So he politely refused.

The second man to scupper the ploy was the prime minister. A message went from the prime minister to Raj Bhavan in Lucknow: the governor wasn't to try any funny tricks.

Romesh Bhandari has served Mulayam Singh Yadav faithfully for several months. But crossing swords with the prime minister of India was more than he bargained for.

The result was that Bhandari petitioned Delhi to lift President's rule even before Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, and Kanshi Ram had boarded the plane that was supposed to take them to Lucknow. And when they landed the governor was waiting to receive them!

What caused the prime minister to act as he did? The answer, surprising though it may be to some, it that Deve Gowda has been looking for a non-Mulayam Singh Yadav solution to Uttar Pradesh for many months.

This became clear at the time of the Rajya Sabha elections. Deve Gowda told Bhandari that if the BJP could muster 212 votes, the governor was to summon Kalyan Singh that very day (At the time, of course, every other party ganged up on the BJP).

I am fairly certain the prime minister knew a BJP-BSP alliance was in the making even before the formal announcement. But he preferred to be a benevolent observer.

The truth is that Deve Gowda knows democracy can't be sacrificed at the altar of "saving secularism". The only solution to Uttar Pradesh's problems -- so graphically described by the Union home minister! -- was a representative government.

Best of all, not hindering the BJP-BSP alliance isn't just morally correct. It is also politically advantageous.

The defence minister has been a difficult and disloyal colleague. Suddenly, with a BJP-BSP ministry in Lucknow, it is Mulayam Singh Yadav who needs "protection". He will get it to an extent. The prime minister believes in loyalty. But he won't break the law to save Yadav.

So, for the defence minister's sake, I hope his "daughter" Phoolan Devi hasn't lost her old skills!

T V R Shenoy is the former editor of The Week

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