There is something profoundly ironical about politicians sermonising on propriety. Over the past week, as President K.R. Narayanan expressed his anguish over Romesh Bhandari's performance at Lucknow's Raj Bhavan, a variety of non-BJP leaders accused him of politicising his office.From H.S. Surjeet to Chandra Shekhar, there seems to be a consensus that the President stay quiet even if the Constitution is mangled. On the other hand, BJP leaders have urged the President to move further on the road to confrontation with Prime Minister I.K. Gujral's caretaker regime. In sum, they are opening the doors to an activist presidency. Either vision is blinkered. True, the President is only the nominal ruler of the country. Even so, he is not a rubber stamp, unthinking, unfeeling and unmindful of any besmirching of the statute book.All the President did was to ask the prime minister to "advise" him on the conduct of Uttar Pradesh's governor. The underlying message could not have been lost on Gujral, even though his only response was resolute inaction. Whatever the ideological compulsions of Narayanan's new-found detractors and supporters, they must bear in mind that he is not the referee of a political football match. The President of India is the custodian of this country's Constitution - an institutionalised elder statesman. Since governance is carried out in his name, he has a right to be heard and to be aided and advised. .preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}Nevertheless, the President would take care to remember that his conduct in recent times has not always been becoming of the nation's faith in him. As a lame duck Union government has gone about appointing governors and envoys, in gross violation of convention, the President has given in silently and without recourse to a pocket veto. There is a lesson for every actor in this unseemly drama: don't reduce politics to throwing stones - or Rashtrapati Bhavan to a glasshouse.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Mar 9, 1998--- ENDS ---
