‘Frequent polls huge burden’: In office, the second Dalit President disappointed critics for largely toeing the govt line. He also spoke up more than once in favour of one nation-one election.
Ram Nath Kovind, picked by the government to head a panel to deliberate on one nation one election just over a year after his term got over, spoke strongly in favour of it more than once while in the post.
Addressing a joint session of Parliament on January 29, 2018, Kovind said citizens who worry about the state of governance in the country are concerned about elections in one part of the country or another impacting the economy and development. “Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct. Therefore, a sustained debate is required on the subject of simultaneous elections,” he said, seeking a “consensus” among parties.
Again, in his address to the first joint sitting of Parliament after the election to the current Lok Sabha, Kovind said that frequent polls had “impacted” the pace as well as continuity of development programmes in the country. Linking the “clear verdicts” delivered in state and national elections as a sign of voter wisdom, he said that ‘One Nation, Simultaneous Elections’ was the need of the hour.
“With such a system in place, all political parties, according to their respective ideologies, will be able to better utilize their energy towards development and public welfare,” he said.
As only the second Dalit President, Kovind held huge symbolic value for the BJP. He was a former chief of the BJP’s Scheduled Caste wing and at the time the Governor of Bihar, with the Narendra Modi government hailed for showing political imagination by picking Kovind.
But, after he had swept the election to the post with over 66% votes, the essence of Kovind’s tenure would remain his silence on issues that could have left the government of the day uncomfortable, even as pleas were made to him to exert the moral presence of his office on issues.
It also belied the hope held out by Kovind’s first speech after taking oath, where he said, “The key to India’s success is its diversity. Our diversity is the core that makes us so unique. In this land we find a mix of states and regions, religions, languages, cultures, lifestyles and much more. We are so different and yet so similar and united.”
The Bills or decisions on which the Opposition felt Kovind as President could have intervened included the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and the introduction of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). Even as legislation were rushed through Parliament without discussion, the Opposition failed to get any reprieve from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
On the other hand, Kovind was accused of going the extra mile to facilitate decisions of the government. In November 2019, for example, the decision to lift President’s Rule in Maharashtra, paving the way for a short-lived stint by the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister. The Centre invoked a special rule to allow the Prime Minister to recommend revocation of Article 356 without any prior consultation with the Cabinet. The decision to lift President’s Rule was notified at 5.47 am on November 23, 2019.
By November 26, 2019, the Fadnavis government had fallen, and a coalition of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress had taken over.
In 2018, acting on the Centre’s advice, Kovind overturned his own decision regarding the appointment of Visva Bharati University vice-chancellor. He was accused of unquestioningly endorsing the change, despite being the Visitor of the prestigious university.
Kovind’s address to the joint session of Parliament ahead of the 2019 general elections also drew the flak of the Opposition, when he said that prior to 2014, India was passing through “a phase of uncertainty”, and that the BJP government wanted to build a “New India with no place for imperfect, corrupt and inertia-ridden systems”.
Kovind, who paid State visits to 33 countries during his tenure, also praised the purchase of Rafale jets (which was criticized by the Opposition), hailed the cross-border surgical strikes, and described demonetization as the “defining moment” in the war on corruption, in his speech. The Congress said it was “unfortunate” that the Modi government used the President’s address as a “tool to try and give credence to its false promises”.
Kovind often talked about his “remarkable journey” during his tenure – a Dalit boy from a hut in Kanpur Dehat who had grown up to reside at Raisina Hill. He attributed it to his fortitude and resilience, helping him escape poverty through education, first becoming a lawyer, then a politician. The father of two served two terms in the Rajya Sabha before becoming a Governor, and then President.
But, more than anything else, Kovind’s silence was deeply felt over instances of attacks on the socially marginalized, particularly Muslims and including Dalits.
The closest Kovind came to addressing this was in 2018, speaking at an event to mark the 127th birth anniversary of B R Ambedkar, where he spoke up only to criticize protests over such issues. “In his final speech in the Constituent Assembly, Dr Ambedkar said, now that we have constitutional methods of expressing Opposition, we should avoid disruptive mechanisms,” Kovind said, in an apparent reference to the violent protests against perceived dilutions in the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The same year, he condemned the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in J&K’s Kathua, which became a communal issue, saying there was a need to introspect “the kind of society we are developing into”.
In the midst of violent protests by a few right-wing groups against the film Padmaavat, Kovind in his Republic Day speech in 2018 said: “A civic-minded nation is built by civic-minded neighborhood’s, whether in our cities or our villages. Where we respect the next-door person’s space, privacy and rights. Where we do not inconvenience our neighbours – while celebrating a festival or while resorting to a protest or on any other occasion.”
Penning his thoughts during his stay at a retreat in Mashobra, Shimla, in May 2018, Kovind urged Indians to learn from nature to live with “sense of compassion, fraternity, civility and mutual dignity”, underscoring that “nature does not compartmentalize”.
Those seeking the same in his personal life went away with a few flashes of quiet dignity. Like in 2020, when ahead of Eid-ul-Adha, Kovind gifted Riyaz, a 16-year-old boy from a financially weak family, a racing bicycle to help him realise his ambition of becoming a champion cyclist. First Lady Savita Kovind stitched masks during the first wave of the Covid for inmates of Delhi’s shelter homes.
However, to most, Kovind fell far short of expectations, as laid down, for example, by the first Dalit President of the country. Even if the President’s hands are largely tied – with the Constitution requiring him or her to act in accordance on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers – President K R Narayanan had pushed the envelope against the government of the day, led by the BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute as well as the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Since leaving office, Kovind has kept up an active schedule, delivering lectures and attending various functions. Only two days back, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat visited him at his residence in Delhi. After the meeting, Kovind said he had “a good conversation on various national issues”. “His insights into our nation’s progress and values are truly inspiring.”
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SOURCE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS
