Hindu (Fanatics?) Choose Muslim for India's President

[Guest guest]

PM's Kalam Missile Pierces Oppn Unity, Shields NDA From Cracks

 

Rohit Bansal

 

New Delhi, June 10: Scientist APJ Abdul Kalam will be the ruling

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate for President of the

Republic.

A Bharat Ratna and architect of India's indigenous missile

programme, Mr Kalam received a "sounding out" phone call from Prime

Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at Chennai on Monday, minutes after

Vajpayee emissary Pramod Mahajan gave a thumbs-up on the crucial

support of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader N Chandrababu Naidu from

Hyderabad. Kalam For President

 

 

"Of all the persons whose names have figured in the public debate

on the presidential election, the most qualified, respected and

statesmanlike person of great integrity and intellect is the former

scientific advisor to Raksha Mantri and Bharat Ratna, Dr A P J Abdul

Kalam."

The Financial Express proposed Dr APJ Kalam for Presidency on May 20

in an editorial titled:

Kalam For President

 

No sooner Mr Kalam had "smiled", Mr Mahajan jumped on to another

plane, to Mumbai this time, and drove straight to the Raj Bhavan, to

express perfunctory regrets to Maharashtra governor PC Alexander.

The veteran IAS officer had been the unofficial NDA candidate over

the last few days, and his imminent candidature had evoked a short-

lived unity (on Sunday evening) among the principal Opposition

parties, who then requested President KR Narayanan to stand for

another term.

 

In between, another troublesome NDA ally, the Shiv Sena, had been co-

opted too, with Sena chief Bal Thackeray telling Mr Mahajan, "main

parwah nahin karta kaun hindu hai, kaun muslim (how do I care who's

Hindu and who's Muslim".

 

As the afternoon wore, Mr Naidu, who for two consecutive days had

sulked, even snubbed Prime Ministerial requests to come to Delhi,

finally hopped on to a plane to the Capital. "Mr Kalam is the best

person," he would succinctly say, dashing all hopes entertained by

the meagre crowd rooting for Vice President Krishan Kant. The chorus

for Mr Kalam grew by the hour. As she walked in to attend the formal

NDA announcement at 7, Race Course Road, Trinamool Congress leader

Mamata Banerjee looked puffed up with justifiable pride. She was the

first politician to suggest this name despite its zero power in the

political algebra at that time. But today was another day. Samajwadi

Party's Mulayam Singh Yadav, whose group was party to the request to

Mr Narayanan just 24 hours back, was eager to remind everyone that

Mr Kalam had worked under him in the defence ministry and it was he

who originally proposed the Bharat Ratna to the distinguished

scientist (The Deve Gowda government ultimately didn't give the

award, something which a grateful BJP did after the Pokhran nuclear

tests).

 

Of course, Mr Yadav didn't wish to eat crow to the extent of

supporting the NDA proposal right away, but his key satrap Amar

Singh candidly told FE that they weren't too keen to be flag bearers

of Opposition unity either, after what the Congress had done to them

in UP recently. And what of President Narayanan and the

embarrassment all this was sure to cause him? Mr Singh smiled and

said, "arre, he didn't accept the request, did he".

 

It is now left to the Congress, the principal Opposition party, to

put up some semblance of resistance. Battling conventional wisdom

that who, after all, could oppose a man of Mr Kalam's credentials,

party president Sonia Gandhi parried questions, and Dr Manmohan

Singh said gently that the NDA suggestion would be considered, and a

decision announced soon.

 

Amidst this, the PM's pointmen had reason to be pleased. "Unless the

Congress puts up some new name, me and you won't have much to do!" a

relieved Mr Mahajan joked with reporters.``Every other candidate

would have been seen as the victory of some party or some leader and

a defeat of the prime minister. But in Mr Kalam is the victory of

the prime minister(alone)!'' he strategised. Asked why Mr Alexander

was dumped, he said in lighter vein, "Alexander wasn't our relative,

was he?" And the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh? Would Mr Kalam fit in

the Sangh's view of the Presidential Palace? "They don't have to

contest the elections, we do," an aide informed helpfully.