Jobs for the Boys
Take concrete steps to prevent others replicating Kalyan Singh's gargantuan ministry.

The only good to have come out of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh's brazen defiance of all norms of ministry making is that it has fuelled profound public disgust. Apart from suggesting that ministers exist not to govern but to enjoy the perks and trappings of office, the 93-member council of ministers is the clearest indication that the pretence of public service has been firmly exorcised from politics. In just two weeks, India's political class has been exposed for what it is: a bunch of rowdy, self-serving and unprincipled individuals out to fatten themselves at the hapless taxpayers' expense. Every political party has emerged from the drama in Lucknow with its reputation in shreds. It will be some time before India's politicians can look the electorate in the eye when they preach the virtues of decency and value-based politics.

An understandable public reaction to this staggering display of arrogance and duplicity is to retreat into a shell of cynicism and apathy. The ordinary citizen, more concerned with getting on with life, will be tempted to pretend that politics is best left to the country's burgeoning underworld. Such a retreat would be indefensible. If India is to be made a decent place, public outrage has to be sustained and focused. For a start, the size of the Kalyan Singh Government makes it imperative for some legislation to ensure that the number of ministers does not exceed 10 per cent of the Assembly's strength. In the past this was a convention. Now it must be made law. Second, there is little point in unearthing the criminal record of ministers unless something concrete is done. The Election Commission has indicated its readiness to debar individuals with criminal records from contesting elections. Public pressure must be put on all political parties to endorse the move. There are criminals in all the parties, but the parties themselves are not criminal outfits. The task is to ensure they do not become so.

Welcome Ordinance

Jaipal Reddy must now complete Prasar Bharati's divorce from politician.

In getting the President to issue an ordinance amending the Prasar Bharati Act and freeing Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR) from legislative shackles, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister S. Jaipal Reddy has done something fairly unusual for politicians in this country: kept a commitment. When, in July, Reddy notified the seven-year-old legislation aimed at unshackling DD and air and merging them into a professionally run, independent media entity, it was pointed out that some provisions of the Prasar Bharati Act could be misused. For instance, the proposed 22-member parliamentary watchdog committee could throttle any autonomy. Further, the Broadcasting Council, which the Prasar Bharati Act sought to create as a public grievance cell, would have no punitive powers. Reddy promised to look into these fears and the past week's ordinance has revoked both the clauses. Complaints against DD and air, and against other networks, will now be heard by a suitable authority to be set up in accordance with the upcoming Broadcasting Bill.

Despite the ordinance, Reddy's efforts at depoliticising DD and air are far from complete. The three-member committee which will select Prasar Bharati's chairman and directors includes a nominee of the President. He will be chosen, in effect, by the Union Cabinet. Reddy, then, has to address apprehensions that the new corporation's board will be packed with political favourites. In making Prasar Bharati a personal agenda and fathering the recent ordinance, Reddy has proved that even in a lame duck regime a single, purposeful minister can achieve much. If he actually brings about the divorce of DD and air from the political class, Reddy will do Indian democracy a great service. His achievement may earn him scowls from fellow politicians; but the applause of history should more than make up for that.

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