COMMENT

No Role for Parallel Envoys Abroad
Desservice to a Service

Congress Wins 5 By-poll Seats NEW DELHI : The Congress party continued to surge ahead on the path of popularity when it retained the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat bagging four of the seven Assembly seats in the by-elections held in six States on 13 September. The Congress inflicted a major blow to the ruling BJP in Gujarat, capturing both the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha and the Sabarmati Assembly seats. The victory of Madhusudeva Mistry, former RJP president, till it merged with the Congress shows Congress popularity among the local people. Another big victory for Congress came in Assam where the Congress candidates won both the Assembly seats in contest. At Titabor, the Chief Minister, Mr. Tarun Gogoi, defeated his nearest rival, Mr. Hemanta Kalita of the Asom Gana Parishad, by a massive margin of 45,250 votes. Mr. Gogoi polled 55,445 votes against 10,195 polled by Mr. Kalita. In the Dibrugarh contest, Dr. Kalyan Gogoi of the Congress polled 40,675 votes as against 14,714 votes polled by his nearest rival, Mr. Ajit Chaliha of the BJP. The Congress also won the 12 Pakke-Kesang Assembly seat in Arunachal Pradesh

K. Natwar Singh

What we are now witnessing in New Delhi is the breakdown of governance and a profound paucity of thought. The NDA government appears to be stricken with directional paralysis and a serious lack of reflection. The Prime Minister now bears the burden of having promised far more than his government can deliver. The NDA has succeeded in making the democratic process less than coherent and less than noble. Its chopping and changing its coalition partners does not exactly inspire confidence in it.

The Prime Minister has been in politics all his adult life. However, he came to occupy this supreme position late in life. He often seems unable to control the events taking place around him. At a time when things are collapsing, he does not quite give the impression of possessing the attributes that make for superior leadership - resolute will, the ability to exploit time and circumstance and the courage judiciously to be ruthless. He has not displayed any particular skill for resolving successfully major dilemmas, whether it is security versus freedom, equality versus excellence, justice versus liberty and so on.

Running a coalition of political satraps of various hues is not a relaxing undertaking at the best of times. If it is to succeed, then it is absolutely essential that there be a clear-cut statement of objectives, policies and programmes. Such a statement must come from the Prime Minister alone. The question is simple. Is there a united vision and common objective? Or, shared values and agreed priorities? Does the Prime Minister enjoy absolute loyalty? Was his resignation an impulsive act or was there something deeper to it?

It is the lack of a well-thought-through political direction that is so disconcerting and worrying. Under him, the Sangh parivar is succeeding in bringing about a slow erosion of the quality of our social and political fabric. Not only this, institutions are being undermined, appointments are being made not on merit, experience or seniority, but with an arbitrariness that is sapping morale and efficiency.

The Indian Foreign Service has mercifully been spared much of these political shenanigans. However, problems have begun for our missions abroad. If this carries on, a lot of the good work undertaken in the last half century could be negated. It is not uncommon to send a special envoy for a specific purpose for a limited period. Many countries do so. However, in the appointment of Mr. BK. Agnihotri, a precedent has been set. A non-resident Indian has been selected as "an advisor in the Indian embassy in Washington, with the personal rank of ambassador". Mr. Agnihotri, I am sure, is an entirely worthy NRI. But, what are his qualifications for becoming a diplomat, and that too at the top of the ladder? It takes an IFS officer about 20 years to become a grade IV ambassador, 25 to get to grade III, 30 years to make it to grade II. Only a handful make it to grade I.

Mr. Lalit Mansingh, our ambassador in Washington, is a grade I officer with 38 years of service. He is unlikely to take kindly to this arbitrary appointment of a roving ambassador. Nothing undermines morale more than diminishing the authority of a head of mission. This is precisely what has been done. Have Lalit Mansingh and his colleagues been found wanting in the performance of their duties? No, they have not. The present ambassador to the US was foreign secretary before this posting. We have the largest Indian embassy in the world in Washington. In addition, there are consulates general at Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco, each headed by IFS officers, with more than 18 years service.

Mr. Agnihotri, apparently, resides in New York. Is he an American citizen, a green card holder? How well acquainted is he with contemporary India? Since he is to be advisor and ambassador at large, one would expect him to have some knowledge of security matters, besides trade, IT, defence, etc. What will be the demarcation of duties between Mr. Lalit Mansingh and Mr. Agnihotri? Will the roving ambassador have diplomatic immunity, will he draw a foreign allowance, have a CD number plate on his car, will he fly the flag on the car? Which of them will go to the state department to discuss NRI matters? When he goes to Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, will the consulates general be subordinate to him? And will he take precedence over the consul general in New York, since he has the rank of ambassador and the CG does not?

It seems fairly obvious that all these unresolved issues have the potential to become very messy. The foreign service establishment is outraged, and justifiably so. Has this appointment been approved by the president or was it not thought necessary to inform Mr. KR Narayanan, who was himself at one time our ambassador to the US?

The people are entitled to know whose idea it was to make these changes in the Indian diplomatic set-up in Washington? Did the matter come up before the appointments committee of the cabinet?

These are all pertinent questions and need to be addressed. The deed has been done. We can only assume that the Sangh parivar, the apparent moving force behind these changes, is bent on doing a great disservice to a great service - the IFS.

The BJP’s other top leaders too appear silent on the issue. We have heard nothing at all on this issue from either LK Advani or Jaswant Singh. Mr. Agnihotri’s appointment reeks of nepotism of the worst kind, in fact, it seems little more than an example of cronyism. Machiavelli in his book, The Prince, wrote : "The first impression that one gets of a ruler and his ability is from seeing the men that he has around him". Prime Minister Vajpayee is not doing too well on this count.

This appointment is an affront to every member of the IFS. It is an affront to good governance. It has become immensely controversial and does nothing to enhance India’s image. The best thing that can now be done is for Mr. Agnihotri to exercise his better judgement and turn down the job rather than be pulled into a murky situation.

Moral Victory for Sonia Gandhi NEW DELHI : The Congress today hailed the results of the by-elections, particularly its showing in Gujarat, where it won the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha and the Sabarmati Assembly seats. The Congress saw in its victory a favourable trend in the State. It was satisfied that it had won from a segment which fell in the Lok Sabha constituency of the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani. “This win is a moral victory for Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and a vindication of her leadership... it is also a political defeat for Mr. Advani” the CWC member and Rajya Sabha MP from the State, Mr. Ahmad Patel, said. The Congress general secretary, Mr. Oscar Fernandes, said the results reflected a general trend throughout the country in favor of the party.