Was A P J Abdul Kalam the greatest Indian President ever? What is his legacy? Will Pratibha Patil ever match up to Kalam?
These are some questions IBNLive readers asked Diptosh Majumdar, CNN-IBN’s National Editor, during a live chat. Excerpts from the chat:
Gautam Vij: Will Pratibha Patil have to prove that she will be an independent and impartial President and not a rubberstamp?
Diptosh Majumdar: Yes, I believe she must do something innovative without delay and reach out to the people and ensure that faith in her is restored. Otherwise, it looks as though irreparable damage has been done to her name. She must reach out both to the people and the Opposition, which did not vote for her.
Praveen: Why hasn’t CNN-IBN hasn’t done a Devil’s Advocate interview with Pratibha Patil?
Diptosh Majumdar: Her managers are guarding her. She is not allowed to talk to the media freely. There is fear that she might say something politically incorrect.
M Sabari: Sir, on what basis do politicians select the President? I really want know this.
Diptosh Majumdar: Political expediency. The choice is always made for political reasons. Even Kalam was chosen that way. If you recall, he was not the BJP's first choice in 2002.
Jeff Alan: Why should India have Presidents who can’t even think of lifting the poor and downtrodden but speak tall words and accomplish nothing.
Diptosh Majumdar: Your views. But then the President cannot achieve much apart from influencing decisions. Let me explain it by being a bit simplistic. The Prime Minister is more like the father of the family: he feeds he plans and he does things. The President is more like the grandfather; he or she provides the wisdom—overall guidance but does not interfere with daily work.
Aditi: Your channel keeps saying that Kalam redefined the Presidency. Could you please explain how is he better than Dr Radhakrishnan or Dr Rajendra Prasad? If your answer is that they cannot be compared, then please don't compare Kalam with Pratibha Patil.
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Diptosh Majumdar: The Presidency was very different in the fifties and sixties. I think it is very difficult to compare Babu Rajendra Prasad and Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Left to me, and my affinity for apolitical presidents, I would have preferred a scholar-philosopher like Radhakrishnan.
Sankar: Do you believe in rumors that Kalam refused to make Sonia Gandhi PM, and that is why the Congress didn't support him for a second term?
Diptosh Majumdar: History will tell us the truth of that very interesting afternoon. I am not going to hazard a guess. I was myself waiting outside Rashtrapati Bhavan that afternoon.
Vishal: I would like to know your thoughts on two issues which came up during Kalam's tenure as President: dissolution of the Bihar Assembly and keeping Afzal’s petition (for clemency) pending? Did he have any pressure while deciding on these matters? (Afzal has been sentenced to death in the Parliament attack case.)
Diptosh Majumdar: I think these are two areas where future presidencies will hinge on: death penalty and Article 356. I have a strong dislike for Article 356. An elected government should be removed only when things have gone completely out of hand, say Punjab in the eighties when separatists have taken over. On death penalty, I think there is a gradual consensus emerging that there should be death penalty in very heinous murders like (rape and murder as in the case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee or serial killing) or in terror-related cases.
Abhishek Anand: Will you say that Kalam committed a blunder by dissolving the Bihar Assembly at midnight?
Diptosh Majumdar: Not a blunder, he committed an error by allowing himself to be bullied. He was in Moscow at the time and he agreed straightaway. He could have waited for a day. He had later acknowledged that wasn't a good decision.
Vairavan Sockalingam: Why a promising leader like Dr Kalam is of no choice to politicians? If the answer is that he is politically inexperienced, then are all current political leaders well experienced or haven't made any mistakes?
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Diptosh Majumdar: I have been pointing out limitations of the Presidency. Let's not make it a huge, big office. It's not an office which implements policies. Let's not mix it with the government. But it does have an influencing role.
Byomakesh: Why have all politicians come out with a minority card? Do they really do for the benefit of the minority or they want to show it off?
Diptosh Majumdar: This is again the politics of tokenism. That is why everybody is making a statement when choosing the Vice Presidential nominee. But then, there is the other point of view. If you recall, even the BJP wanted to make a statement after the Gujarat riots in 2002 in choosing Kalam. Kalam combined the twin political values of being a Muslim and an undisputed patriot.
Padmakar: Can there be a better way of electing a President?
Diptosh Majumdar: I think the Constitution provides for a good way of electing the president. Let me repeat, the President is not the PM. We can't have a general election which will elect the President. We need a clean individual of great reputation to be the President. He should be constitutionally aware, have a probing, independent mind and be fearless about asking questions. The government of the day shouldn't feel that it could trample upon the Presidential institution.
Praveen: CNN0IBN has raised many allegations against Pratibha Patil. Has she replied to any single one?
Diptosh Majumdar: That is the mistake Patil committed. She just issued a denial, which was like saying nothing. She should have given a point-by-point rebuttal to all criticisms.
Padmakar: Who do you think would have been the best fit for the President's post in place of Prathiba Patil?
Diptosh Majumdar: Kalam, second term. Fali Nariman. Gopal Gandhi, M.S. Swaminathan. At a time when the country is going through farmer suicides, Swaminathan as President would have been an important political statement.
S R Iyer: Can the people teach the political class a lesson by nominating Prof Kalam for a second term?
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Diptosh Majumdar: But that is not constitutionally possible. The President is to be elected by the political class. This arrangement has worked well. We cannot have two power centres. The President can and never should have the same powers as the Prime Minister.
Ratnakar: The Left is known for its principles but why did they reject Kalam?
Diptosh Majumdar: The Left is anti-nuclear. They have been forever against Kalam. They also feel that Kalam identifies too much with the mall-going young urban crowd. But basically, they are anti-Kalam for his nuclear scientist past.
Sumeet: What do you make of the speech Pratibha Patil gave in the Common Room?
Diptosh Majumdar: It is interesting. She harped on women's issues and child rights: politically correct but predictable. She quoted from two major Maharashtrians’ writings, Sant Tukaram and Babasaheb Ambedkar but she did not forget to remember Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. In her maiden speech, she could have avoided that. After all politics is about perception and she should not have given out the impression that she is close to the Nehru-Gandhi family. That is politically divisive.
Gagan: Will Partibha Patil be able to carry on the legacy of Kalam?
Diptosh Majumdar: Very tough. Her first speech this afternoon was good but not that impressive. I would have been happy if she had tried to reach out to the Opposition and reassured them that despite all the criticism, everybody was equal in her eyes. That would have gone down as a nice politically inclusive gesture.
Byomakesh: Politicians heaping praise on Kalam but denied him a second chance. Why?
Diptosh Majumdar: They wanted a President answerable only to the political class. And I believe that is not a genuine and good interpretation of the Constitution. Step back and just wonder why did the Constitution’s authors give the right to the President to return a Bill. I personally believe that the President can achieve a lot to this checks and balances system on which our very successful democracy is fundamentally based.
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Rajat: When Kalam was in the DRDO he failed to give a creditable missile system to India. All the DRDO projects became obsolete halfway through. But he is still considered a big scientist. Isn't he a big failure?
Diptosh Majumdar: If we look back, we shall definitely find flaws in him but as a President he did try out certain things which were novel, innovative and added a lot to the dignity of his office. The DRDO's failures were because of larger issues. You can't blame Kalam alone for it.
Ajay: Whom should we held responsible for not making Kalam our President again
Diptosh Majumdar: Well, we cannot wholly blame the Congress. Even the BJP wasn't willing to give Narayanan a second term. Kalam deserved a second term, no doubt, but then the political class has got into this tradition of not giving anybody after Babu Rajendra Prasad a second term.
Nagarajan: Pratibha Patil’s relatives face corruption and murder charges. Considering the high office she occupies, don’t you think she must keep all of them away from Rashtrapati Bhavan?
Diptosh Majumdar: She has a big job in hand. The suspicions will linger. But first of all, she must reach out to the Opposition and prove that she is not vindictive and is willing to take along. We want a President if not belonging to the people at least to all political classes and one hopes she wouldn't be petty and forget and forgive those who campaign against her.
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