Though we cannot be sure that the problem of reinducting Mr. Charan Singh into the Cabinet has finally been resolved till he is actually sworn in, it does appear that it has been. It also seems reasonably certain that Mr. Morarji Desai has felt compelled to agree to give him the vital Finance portfolio. On the face of it, this represents a reasonable compromise which those interested in the unity of the Janata party and the survival of the Janata governments at the Centre and in some of the states – UP, Bihar and Haryana – can welcome. For it can well be argued that while Mr. Desai has given up his insistence on Mr. Charan Singh’s tendering a public apology for the charges that the latter made against the former and his son, Mr. Kanti Desai, Mr. Charan Singh has abandoned his demand for restoration of the status quo ante, which included not only the return of the Home portfolio to himself but also reinduction of Mr. Raj Narain into the Cabinet. Indeed, it can be said that the former Home Minister has been more accommodating since he has also reconciled himself to the appointment of two deputy prime ministers. The reality, however, is different, as would be evident to anyone who cares to remember the circumstances in which the agreement has been reached. On December 22, Mr.
Charan Singh finally issued the statement giving his version of his exit from the Cabinet and in the process making serious charges against the Prime Minister. On December 23 his supporters organised a massive kisan rally in Delhi on the occasion of his birthday to underscore their claim that he was the undisputed leader of the peasantry in north India. He fixed a meeting of his aides for January 28 and 29 to decide whether they are to stay on with the Janata or to revive the former BLD. He did not spurn Mrs. Gandhi’s friendly gestures and indirect offers of co-operation in toppling the government in case he decided to quit the Janata. A number of Union ministers continued their so-called mediatory efforts with Mr. Jayaprakash Narayan’s support. All in all, Mr. Desai has been under tremendous pressure. As such it is only fair to draw the inference that he has acted under what amounts to coercion.
Though it will be somewhat of an exaggeration to suggest that the reinduction of Mr. Singh into the Cabinet on terms which the Prime Minister would not have offered on his own initiative reduces the Janata government in New Delhi to little more than a coalition, it will not be surprising if it turns out to be the beginning of such a development. Despite all his talk of the prerogatives of the Prime Minister, Mr. Desai has, of course, not been a free agent in the sense the former prime ministers were. He had formed his Cabinet in March 1977 on the basis of providing “fair” representation to the Janata’s different constituents. At least one minister, Mr. Brij Lal Verma, was selected not by him but by Mr. Nanaji Deshmukh who was for some reason not inclined to join the Cabinet. But Mr. Desai had been reasonably successful in creating the impression that though he was not heading what could be called a homogeneous team, he would not yield to pressures and threats. This impression has now taken a knocking. And while it may be premature to say whether or not as finance minister, Mr. Charan Singh will wish to or will be able to give expression to his anti-urban and anti-industry bias, this possibility cannot be rejected out of hand. He is a man of strong prejudices and a new power balance looks like emerging in the Cabinet.
The former Congressmen in the Janata party and government, whether belonging to the Congress (O) or the CFD, have by and large been on Mr. Desai’s side and so have been the former Jana Sangh men despite Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s and Mr. LK Advani’s presence among the “mediator” ministers. On Mr. Charan Singh’s side have been ranged former BLD men – with some exceptions like Mr. HM Patel and Mr. Piloo Mody – and the socialists. The BLD-Socialist combination, which amounts to an implicit alliance between middle peasant castes and the advocates of nationalisation of key industries, must feel emboldened by Mr. Charan Singh’s honourable return to the Cabinet. He is not a radical in the accepted Marxist sense of the term. But in a more basic sense he is. He almost uses Maoist vocabulary in making it out that urban centres have prospered at the cost of the countryside and that it is necessary to redress the balance in favour of the latter.
The Times of India, 24 January 1979