Hats off to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. By securing the reversal of the Congress leadership’s decision to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act in order specifically to avoid prosecution of Mr AR Antulay, he has struck a blow at once for primacy of law and norms in public life. In the process, he has on the one hand saved the party from ignominy and on the other, demonstrated his capacity for leadership and his adherence to certain principles. It goes without saying that he alone could have persuaded Mrs. Gandhi of the unwisdom of the earlier decision to stake her own prestige for the sake of protecting Mr. Antulay. But that cannot detract from the fact that he put his own reputation on the line. He did so in two ways. He first let it be known that he was opposed to the demand by Mr. Antulay and his cronies that the Prevention of Corruption Act be amended. And when the party leadership minus him acceded to it, he did not give in or give up. He pressed his case and, needless to add, he prevailed. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi has finally arrived. He has shown in a most convincing manner that he possesses the necessary judgment, determination and commitment to values.
His position in the Antulay case has been unequivocal from the very start in 1981. He was the first important figure in the ruling party then to take the stand that Mr. Antulay would have to resign as chief minister of Maharashtra. And now he has seen to it that the law of the land is not changed to help Mr. Antulay avoid a trial. But obviously it has not been just an issue of consistency for Mr. Gandhi. He has been guided by the interests of the party and, indeed, of the country. The political community would certainly have been polarized if the Congress had gone ahead with the amendment. This would in turn have created a dangerously tense atmosphere in the country with possible consequences which are too terrible to contemplate.
But while the episode has helped emphasize the qualities of leadership in Mr. Gandhi, it is sad that it should have taken place at all. It reflects rather poorly on some of those who occupy key position in the country’s political life. They would not have been blameworthy if they had just carried out Mrs. Gandhi’s instructions. The tragedy is that they espoused Mr. Antulay’s cause as if the former chief minister was an innocent victim of some malevolent elements. They disregarded even the Maharashtra chief minister, Mr. Vasantrao Patil’s political assessment that the decision to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act would be disastrous for the party in the state. Mrs. Gandhi’s own judgment was far from sure in this case. Even so it must be said to her credit that she did not take long to retrace her steps. Apparently once Mr. Rajiv Gandhi put the whole issue in the proper perspective – he must have done so pretty forcefully – she was quick to recognise the merit of his case. Obviously he issued the statement in the name of the Congress leadership at her instance. The same must also be true of Mr. Vasantrao Patil who has been quick to drop the move, endorsed by the Maharashtra Congress legislature party only on Monday, to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act. Thus she has shown that she is willing to heed sound advice.
Here a word of caution may still be in order. For the last two days rumours have been floating that Mr. Antulay would be one of the Congress nominees for election to the Rajya Sabha. While this report fitted in with the earlier move, it does not square with the latest decision and is therefore possibly out of date, if not wholly motivated and wrong. But if the Congress leadership tries to buy peace with Mr. Antulay in this fashion, it would expose itself to the same charge of being indifferent to the minimum standards of public morality as it did when it decided to amend the Prevention of Corruption Act. A grave blunder has been barely averted and it would be odd if another was to be committed. It is bad enough that the Congress as a party should feel obliged to extend full support to a member facing trial on serious charges in “his efforts to get justice”. For the implication is that he cannot get justice on his own and that the Congress leadership feels obliged to rush to the rescue of its members whatever the charges against them. But that can be said to be the business of the Congress party. Membership of the Rajya Sabha for Mr. Antulay when he is on trial would be a very different proposition.