Column

It’s a short hop from consensus to confrontation. With elections looming ahead, the fragile truce between the BJP and the Congress, struck in the immediate aftermath of the first wave of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, had to evaporate. So, Advani and Manmohan Singh were back to basics in less than 24 hours, both bristling with personal animosity in the duel to win hearts and minds on the eve of polling day. Like a Greek tragedy, there is a sense of inevitability in the way competitive politics unfold in our country. The night before, they talked as comrades-in-arms, even agreeing to fly to Mumbai together. It made for great optics, the Prime Minister and the shadow Prime Minister, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder in the war against terror. But by the morning, the show of unity started falling apart. Politics had intruded.

It’s difficult to pinpoint who lit the spark. Advani was understandably eager to get on
that plane with Singh and he leaned heavily on the PM to make it happen. Equally, Singh was understandably reluctant to share his space ashead of government. When the service chiefs advised him after that morning’s cabinet meeting to put off his Mumbai visit till the commando operations ended, he jumped at the suggestion to fend off his antsy rival. But Advani was not ready to let it rest and a flurry of phone calls ensued.

The proverbial final straw that broke the camel’s back was the PM’s offer to send Advani on a special flight with home minister Shivraj Patil in the afternoon. Can’t get a better putdown than that. One wonders what set the PM off. Was it Advani’s over-anious behaviour that hit a raw nerve? Or was it simply politics?

What followed was bound to happen. A furious Advani set off for Mumbai by commercial flight with Jaswant Singh in tow. And lo and behold!

A couple of hours later, the PM flew to Mumbai as well in his special plane, with Sonia Gandhi accompanying him. Neither side wanted the other to steal their thunder.

Consequently, Mumbai police had to divert part of its already over-stretched resources to VIP security duty. This is a point to ponder. VIP visits are a must in every crisis because they give a healing touch. But when they become a game of one-upmanship, it’s a turn-off. Given the high levels of security arrangements our leaders need in these difficult times, it makes more sense to go to Ground Zero after the flames have been doused. That way, security officers are free to get on with the job instead of digressing. It’s unfortunate when a rush of election fever makes political leaders lose their sense of perspective.

TAILPIECE
Operation Black tornado, as the Mumbai counter-terrorism attack was dubbed, is
perhaps the first encounter to be televised live from start to finish. With every participant in the operation eager to get a slice of media attention, senior defence and police officers were in fierce competition with each other to grab eyeballs and often ended up parting with sensitive information. Ultimately, the defence ministry had to issue a gag order on the men in uniform. A harsh letter went out on Day Two to the three service chiefs to tell their men to “shut up’’ and stay away from television cameras.

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net