March 2, 1998

Political parties must not play footsie with religious fanatics

When innocent victims of terrorism get caught up in a game of political football, the real casualty is national security. Unfortunately, this is precisely what has happened with the past week's explosions in Coimbatore that killed 60 people. The BJP has reason to be relieved that a delayed schedule prevented its president, L.K. Advani, from becoming a target of the terrorists. However, that is not reason enough to politicise the issue. Advani was no doubt the target -- as Home Minister Indrajit Gupta has admitted -- but he was the incidental target. The terrorists aimed at creating a communal polarisation that would sully the election atmosphere. They failed narrowly. It would be tragic if they now succeed because political leaders decide to transform a national tragedy into a game of one-upmanship. Certainly, Congress President Sitaram Kesri should have been more circumspect in his utterances after the blast. Though he has been forced to eat his words, the political atmosphere has been vitiated.

There are two real lessons to be learnt from the Coimbatore blasts. First, that state governments cannot afford to view intelligence alerts so casually. There were warnings that a fanatical group may try to target important leaders during the election campaign. The Tamil Nadu Police even discovered bomb factories before the Coimbatore blasts. Tragically, the information was not acted upon. The DMK Government has only itself to blame if its opponents now exploit this lapse politically. Second, the Coimbatore experience is a warning to all political parties to not play footsie with religious extremists. There may be short-term gains from being soft on those with a divisive agenda but this strategy inevitably rebounds, with catastrophic consequences. The DMK has experienced it with the Tamil Tigers, the Congress with Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and the BJP with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. It is a shame that no lessons have been learnt.

Cross Connection

The turf war between DOT and TRAI must not jeopardise MTNL's business plans

In barring the entry of the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) into the cellular phone business, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has yet again demonstrated the Janus-faced nature of this country's liberalisation process. The immediate impact of TRAI's decision has been a bear run on its scrip and the disappointment of consumers who were promised a mobile phone connection at bargain prices. Even so it would be futile to project TRAI as the big bad wolf in what is otherwise a fairy tale. In reality, MTNL has fallen victim to a turf war between its parent, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), and TRAI.

At the root of the problem is the fact that the Government, as represented by dot, is cast in the dual role of policy-maker and service provider. dot sees TRAI as the effective watchdog for private telecom companies but refuses to recognise that its writ must run over MTNL as well. dot is controlled by a mind-set which is used to treating public money as private largesse and viewing a state-owned enterprise as a favour-dispensing facility. No wonder it is loath to let go of MTNL and limit its role to merely making broad policy. On its part, TRAI has indicated it may reconsider its ban on MTNL's expansion plans if it is "consulted" by dot. The underlying message seems to be that the regulatory authority seeks to have a say in the framing of policy. This is analogous to the judiciary telling Parliament it wants to have a role in lawmaking. Unfortunately, while dot and TRAI seek to carve out territories, it is the hapless MTNL which suffers. Public-sector units (PSUs) in this country seem twice cursed. For five decades, the government has treated them like milch cows. Now, the birth pangs of a new economic paradigm are being transferred to them. If only PSUs like MTNL were allowed the freedom to function as what they are: business corporations.

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