It is not quite clear whether Mr. Bhajan Lal has resigned as Haryana’s chief minister at this crucial stage on his own or on the orders of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. But this is not a particularly important issue. For the interests of Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Bhajan Lal converged in this matter. Since in view of the terms of his appointment the Venkataramiah commission cannot deliver anything like justice to Haryana in its award now due on June 10, Mr. Bhajan Lal would have had nothing to gain and much to lose by staying on as chief minister. He would have had to cope with a great deal of protest and unpopularity. By resigning, he has emerged as Haryana leader who would not compromise the state’s interests. To an extent he might also have put behind him the endless charges of corruption against him. As for the Prime Minister, Mr. Bhajan Lal had not played the game as he would have liked him to play it. In the Punjab accord with Sant Longowal, Mr. Gandhi had agreed to the terms which ruled out the transfer of the Hindi-speaking parts of Abohar and Fazilka to Haryana in lieu of Chandigarh. But Mr. Bhajan Lal pressed the state’s claim to precisely those areas before the Mathew commission and refused to accept the lollipop-type alternative which the Punjab chief minister, Mr. Surjit Singh Barnala, was willing to offer him. Mr. Bhajan Lal was not equally vociferous in his submissions to the Venkataramiah commission but in reality he was equally intransigent. Till almost the last day he refused to make alternative proposals. All in all, Mr. Bhajan Lal had become an embarrassment for the Prime Minister in the pursuit of his strategy in Punjab and had, therefore, to be got rid of. The collapse of the strategy could have added to Mr. Gandhi’s embarrassment as well as to his determination. The first expression of determination came on May 31 when the Prime Minister delinked the transfer of Chandigarh to the Akalis from the report of the Venkataramiah commission and announced that the transfer would take place on June 21.
If it is true that Mr. Gandhi had decided to remove Mr. Bhajan Lal, it follows that simultaneously he had also decided to send Mr. Bansi Lal back to Haryana. He did not have much choice in the matter. By the same token, even if Mr. Bhajan Lal resigned on his own initiative on Wednesday, the selection of Mr. Bansi Lal as his successor was only to be expected. No other Congress leader in the state possesses the necessary reputation to give Mr. Gandhi the confidence that he can try and cope with the situation. And, of course, the Haryana Congress legislature party had only to be told that it was expected to elect Mr. Bansi Lal as its new leader. At this point, it would be highly premature to speculate on the likely course of events; it would also be inappropriate to recall Mr. Bansi Lal’s strong and weak points. He has been given and he has accepted an extremely difficult assignment. The people not only in Haryana but in the whole of India will watch his performance with interest not untinged with concern.