The people in Punjab, indeed, the whole country, would have expected the Congress (I) in the state to close its ranks in the face of the grave threat posed by the Akalis. This has not happened. On the contrary dissidents in the state Congress (I) legislature party have become active again. This has followed visits to Chandigarh first by Mr. Rajiv Gandhi and then by Mr. Balram Jakhar. Mr. Jakhar is not without ambition. Otherwise as Speaker of the Lok Sabha he would not have taken interest in the messy politics in Punjab. The Speaker is expected to be above all politics. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi is in a different category. In his capacity both as general secretary of the AICC and son of the Prime Minister, his principal interest must be in promoting unity in the Punjab Congress (I) legislature party. It is, therefore, possible that he has met the dissidents in Chandigarh and Delhi in order to persuade them to cooperate with the chief minister, Mr. Darbara Singh. But it is open to question whether he has adopted the right approach to achieve this objective. The sequence of events speaks for itself. Following his visit to Chandigarh, seven ministers have made an air dash to Delhi to confer with him. Whatever the result of these parleys, this demonstration of disunity in the ruling party cannot but encourage the Akalis to remain intransigent. To put it mildly this is unfortunate.
It is not difficult to find fault with Mr. Darbara Singh’s style of functioning and performance. He has not been as strong a chief minister as the state requires in this turbulent period. At one stage, for instance, he issued an order that all arms should be handed over to the authorities and then withdrew it because the Akalis protested against it. Similarly, he lifted a cordon which he had himself put around the Golden Temple in Amritsar in order to check the movement of known murderers into and out of the holy shrine. He has also been known not to consult his ministerial and party colleagues while taking decisions of such critical importance. But in fairness to him, it must be admitted that his task has not been made easier by the lack of unity in the party and intrigues against him by well-placed individuals in Delhi. The estimates of the number of dissidents also vary. While the seven ministers who met Mr. Rajiv Gandhi on Tuesday claimed the support of 48 legislators, other informed sources placed the number at between 20 and 25. They also suggest that five or six of these legislators would cross over to the Akalis if they were convinced that the Congress (I) would not be returned to power in the next election. It is difficult for us to vouch for the accuracy of this proposition. But persons with intimate knowledge of the goings-on in Punjab go so far as to say that these and some other Congress (I) dissidents would have already crossed over to the Akalis if the CPI and CPM had not refused to support an Akali government formed with the help of defectors. If there is any truth in these reports it follows that such individuals cannot be relied upon to engage in a serious political battle with the Akalis. By contrast, whatever may be his failings, Mr. Darbara Singh is a genuine nationalist. His entire record as a political activist is free from the slightest taint of communalism which is not true of many others in the Congress (I) in Punjab.
To weaken his position at this stage is dangerous from another point of view. It will create the impression among the Akalis that the Centre can be pushed around. There has been speculation from time to time that the imposition of President’s rule in the state may help tone up the administration and even pave the way for an understanding with the Akalis. This speculation is either interested or naive. Those who engage in it do not know that a show of weakness will, if anything, strengthen Akali extremism and that in any case it is the height of folly to throw one’s general to the wolves when the battle is already joined. Generals are changed during a war, but only when better replacements are available and the high command has decided upon a new strategy. In this case neither condition applies. A more determined opponent of the Akalis is not available within the Punjab Congress (I) and Mrs. Gandhi has not even drawn the line beyond which she will not retreat before the gathering Akali pressure. On balance, therefore, the central leadership of the Congress (I) will be well advised to put the weight of its authority behind Mr. Darbara Singh and do all in its power to end dissidence in the state.