Column

The significance of the decision to bury their bitter past lies in the fact that they have probably set a new standard in the politics of bitterness

Politics did another flip last week when Mulayam Singh Yadav drove to the official residence of sworn enemy Mayawati to discuss the appointment of a chairman for UP’s human rights commission. It was their first colloquy after 13 bitter years shadowed by the memory of that shameful night in June when she lay holed up in Lucknow’s state guesthouse while Mulayam’s men bayed for her blood outside. They would have broken in and UP’s political history would have been completely different but for an intrepid IAS officer who helped Mayawati to safety from the armed marauders seeking vengeance for her decision to pull out of the 17-month old SP-BSP coalition government. From the accounts trickling in about their unexpected meeting on Friday morning, it was an awkward moment for both. The 35-minute encounter was punctuated by bouts of tense silence. Neither is a good conversationalist. Mulayam is particularly inarticulate and Mayawati speaks in short sentences. It was left to the bureaucrats present to keep the dialogue going. There was little to talk about, once they had decided on the name of the human rights commission chief, retired Supreme Court judge H K Sema. They spoke a little on the fuel price hike and Mayawati’s refusal to reduce sales tax to provide consumer relief. They also chatted a bit about the need to provide seeds for farmers in the coming sowing season. Contrary to speculation in the Capital, they did not talk politics. As soon as he finished his cup of tea, Mulayam got up, did namaste and left.

It would be naïve to speculate about a new political alignment in the making just because Mulayam and Mayawati are talking again. The significance of their decision to bury their bitter past lies in the fact that they have probably set a new standard in the politics of bitterness that seems to be the hallmark of our times. We could be seeing a return to civility in a class that has forgotten basic norms of social interaction in the heat of the battle for power. Looking at some of the celebrated political rivalries of our times, one wonders what happened to the little courtesies that define human behaviour. Jayalalithaa had her blouse torn and sari almost stripped in the Tamil Nadu assembly by DMK MLAs. Advani and Sonia Gandhi barely exchanged greetings till he broke the barrier to call on her some months ago with a copy of his autobiography. Mamata Banerjee invariably goes over the top when referring to her CPM opponents. Contrast this with the praise Jawaharlal Nehru showered on a young Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as revealed in the Nehru archives published in DNA. Or the healthy respect Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar and Vajpayee had for each other even though they were in different parties. It made for witty exchanges and sharp polemics as they duelled and sparred on issues and ideas. In these fragmented times when coalition governments are the order of the day, we need a smaller dose of personalised politics to meet the challenges of the day. Perhaps our netas here in Delhi and elsewhere can learn a thing or two from the Mulayam-Mayawati meeting.

TAILPIECE

As Gujarat Congress leaders huddle in Dwarka for a chintan shivir this weekend to discuss the party’s fortunes, or the lack of them, there’s a creepy sense of déjà vu in veterans familiar with the political history of the state. The last Congress gathering in this city was in July 1989 when the then chief minister Chimanbhai Patel came with his flock to flag off a Nyaya yatra. The yatra covered 550 km from Dwarka to Hajira in 35 days but after that, the Congress has never won an election in Gujarat.

Email: a_jerath@dnaindia.net