We Dont Need No Messiah 25 February 2012 In the early years of what is today called the European enlightenment, the

political philosopher ontes!uie famously identified "irtue # or respect for the law # as the widely shared spirit within a society that made democracy as a system of go"ernance possible$ E"en if widely shared, "irtue is a frail and delicate attribute, which needs to be securely enshrined in institutions that would be immune to abuse$ %irtue would surely perish if power were to be e&ercised arbitrarily and the law abused$ 'nd since e&cessi"e power, "ested in any indi"idual or institution is the surest road to the collapse of democracy, the separation of powers is essential to safeguard "irtue$ E"ery institution of go"ernance would en(oy autonomy within its own realm, but no licence to intrude into another)s territory$ In their mutual independence and ad"ersarial tension, the e&ecuti"e, legislature and (udiciary would ensure a system of administration that upheld the so"ereignty # and nurtured the "irtue ** of the citi+en$ Indian democracy seems set on a rather different course$ %irtue is seen not as a widely held attribute but the monopoly of a chosen few$ Far from honouring the separation of powers, legislature, (udiciary and e&ecuti"e are seen, in a self* ser"ing and sordid deal, to be ma,ing accountability the principal casualty$ -he 'nna .a+are mo"ement, which caused spasms of an&iety in the political establishment through three "isitations in 2011, was a powerful representation of elite disgruntlement at the state of go"ernance$ Its dominant motif was a forthright sense of disdain, loudly proclaimed, at the functioning of the institutions of representati"e democracy$ 'nd its programme was to secure democracy against a reign of ini!uity by endowing the "irtuous few with powers that trumped all others$ 'nna .a+are promised messianic deli"erance from the difficulties ordinary people face$ /ut the sea refused to part as his chosen people were led to the

water)s edge and the constituency for messianism remains unappeased$ -he residual impact still remains on the institutions of go"ernance, which feel compelled to respond to the elite clamour by ma,ing sweeping decisions that (ump across institutional boundaries$ -he recent 0upreme 1ourt ruling assigning culpability for the abuse of power in the gift*wrapping of a "aluable public resource # the telecom spectrum # for a clutch of companies of dubious credentials, addressed !uestions of political accountability in a rather strange fashion$ 2hile identifying the indi"idual who held the telecom portfolio in the 3nion 1abinet at the time, the 0upreme 1ourt bench absol"ed the 4rime 4rime inister of all blame$ It did howe"er, censure the inister)s office for the numerous acts of omission and commission that

contributed to the epic scandal$ -his lesson in political morality abounds in curiosities$ It shreds the principle of collecti"e responsibility which is a fundamental premise of the 1abinet system of go"ernance$ 'nd in this respect, it holds out a lifeline to 4rime inister anmohan 0ingh, who has for long ta,en the alibi that coalition compulsions pre"ent effecti"e o"ersight o"er ministerial malfeasance$ It was a rather wea, argument but one that found traction with sections of the media that seemed an&ious to protect 61'57$ %iewed dispassionately, anmohan 0ingh)s alibi would appear to be a gigantic anmohan 0ingh, as his credibility went into free fall following a se"ere indictment of the spectrum sale by the 1omptroller and 'uditor*5eneral

e"asion$ -he rules of engagement in a coalition go"ernment, he was in effect arguing, in"ol"ed granting e"ery partner a certain degree of latitude$ /y implication, e"en if there was a gross abuse of power, indi"idual rather than collecti"e responsibility would apply$

If coalition compulsions necessitate a dilution of the principle of collecti"e responsibility within the 3nion 1abinet, the 4rime inister)s office clearly is a inister en(oys the "irtually "ery different ,ind of space$ -his is where the 4rime

untrammelled pri"ilege of nominating ,ey aides and officials$ In holding the 4rime inister guiltless in the abuses that his handpic,ed staff colluded in, the 0upreme 1ourt constructs yet another peculiar notion of political accountability$ -he spirit that suffuses the 0upreme 1ourt)s recent findings on the 25 scam is e&pediency rather than principle$ -hat same attitude was e"ident in the inter"ention of 4$ 1hidambaram, then the 3nion Finance inister$ 'fter for long insisting that an auction in"ol"ing all those see,ing to launch second*generation 6or 257 telecom ser"ices would be the right procedure, 1hidambaram seemingly ac!uiesced in the final decision made by his colleague in the 3nion 1abinet, to sell the spectrum in terms of a dubious first come first ser"ed policy$ In a recorded minute in his hand, he urged then that the matter be treated as closed$ 1hidambaram was in other words, disinclined to enter into conflict with a cabinet colleague, because the conse!uences could possibly destabilise the ruling coalition$ ' (udicial forum is no place to settle !uestions of political morality$ -he 0upreme 1ourt)s recent decisions on the allocation of blame in the 25 scandal, honour this principle$ /ut they also e&plicitly endorse the dubious construction of political morality # in terms of its limitations in a conte&t of coalition go"ernance # that has emerged from the go"ernment of the day$ It see,s to offset these concessions it renders to e&pediency, by decreeing with a self*righteous flourish, the cancellation of all telecom licences granted under the 25 spectrum allocation$ E"en those absolutely con"inced of the righteousness of the decision must harbour a certain dis!uiet at the manifest failure of due process here$ -he 0upreme 1ourt has basically rendered a (udgment that penalises entities that were not named in the petition it was hearing, without so much as gi"ing them the opportunity to be heard$

0ummary (ustice, for a constituency that see,s messianic deli"erance, may seem the need of the hour, when political institutions ha"e loudly proclaimed their failure$ 'bo"e all, this is a failure of credible oppositional politics$ 4olitical morality is determined within the realm of politics, in the contestation between ruling and opposition factions$ 0ince the first whiff of the 25 scandal, the political opposition has been see,ing e&traordinary remedies$ It paralysed the functioning of 4arliament when the ruling benches refused to institute a (oint committee to in"estigate the 25 scandal before a thorough debate on the 1'5 report$ It has since sought to shelter behind the ma"eric, effort by 0ubramanian 0wamy, a renowned political ad"enturer with distinctly dubious political commitments, to enforce morality through the courts$ -hat effort suffered a setbac, with a 8elhi court refusing 0wamy)s insistent plea to sanction the criminal prosecution of 1hidambaram, the incumbent 3nion .ome inister$ -he tra(ectory howe"er, has been set, and the opposition is unli,ely to retreat from its confrontational posture, which sin,s politics into further odium$ -he unappeased constituency for messianism clearly, is unli,ely to sit bac, and allow this dubious political morality play to proceed$ ' swift resumption of the elite rebellion against representati"e politics is "irtually foretold$ 'nd this !uest for a "irtuous order free of all the ir,some burdens of representati"e democracy, is li,ely to inflict lasting damage on the political order$