The debate in parliament on the motion of trust in the government a few days ago marked the public loss of innocence of politicians and parties and the exposure of others. Can they do anything to redeem themselves?

The Left, which had supported the United Progressive Alliance government from the outside and controlled its policies was acting on ‘principle’. It did not want to have any association with the United States of America other than through normal trade and investment. It did not accept that the nuclear agreement marked a significant recognition of India’s prowess in nuclear technology and its responsible behaviour. The agreement ratified the crowning of India as the counterpoise to China in Asia. It is a development much desired by most Asian countries — certainly Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. The US was committing itself and so were the European powers.

This recognition is of great importance to India. It means that we will now no longer be alone in resisting China’s grandiose claims to Arunachal Pradesh, parts of Sikkim and the Aksai Chin area. If China again threatens to change the course of the Brahmaputra as it did some years ago, we can expect international support to our protests.

It requires a particularly perverse lack of national identity for any political party not to welcome such support. The Left has never been famous for being pro-Indian from the time of the struggle for independence, the days when the Soviet Comintern controlled all communist parties, the Chinese invasion of 1962 until now. The Left has exposed its supranational loyalties to the interests of China. It is no different from the religious fundamentalists who place religion above the nation.

The Left tasted power without responsibility for over four years by its control over the UPA government. The ostensible purpose of the support was to unite ‘secular’ parties. The real purpose was to hold back India’s growth and to look after the interests of China. In the trust vote, the Left forgot this ‘secular’ reason and was ready to coordinate with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the BJP’s former allies, namely Mayavati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Ajit Singh and others. Secularism gave way to anti-US propaganda.

To redeem itself the Left must dismiss their inept and rigid general secretary, Prakash Karat. It must dissociate itself from the power-hungry Mayavati. It must clean up its policies in the states where it has power — on land for industry, relief and rehabilitation of displaced farmers and peasants, mindless backing of industrial and government employees at the cost of the economy, as well as on inefficient ways of subsidizing the poor.

In 1998, the Congress had been disgraced by the Samajwadi Party when it backed out of supporting Sonia Gandhi’s claim to form the government. The visual of the Congress leader outside Rashtrapati Bhavan proclaiming that she had the backing of 272 members of parliament is unforgettable. Since then, the Congress has hounded the Samajwadi Party whenever possible. When the UPA government was formed, the Congress snubbed the Samajwadi Party and its leaders who supported the government. Now the Congress has joined hands with the Samajwadi Party.

The speaker may soon reveal the truth about the transactions the two parties indulged in to achieve a majority in the trust vote. In the process, the hitherto impeccable integrity of the prime minister has been stained, as has been the Congress president’s. They have adapted to the rules of Indian politics that there are no enemies, only allies; that everyone has a price and it must be paid; that it is not the truth that is important but the ability to conceal one’s actions.

The prime minister and his party, for the remaining months they have power, must demonstrate that they want power for the good of the people, not merely for the nuclear deal. They must curb the deficit by rationalizing subsidies and more efficient spending on other areas like defence and performance-linked pay for bureaucrats. They must cut the volatile foreign fund inflows that have made a casino of our stock markets and stoked inflation. Tighter regulation on the many types of financial instruments and players is essential if we are not to recreate the American financial disaster. Retail petroleum product prices must rise to reduce losses of the state-owned oil companies. Steps must be taken to attract better and more teachers at all levels of the education system by implementing the reports of the administrative reforms commission. The pay commission report may be tweaked to provide substantial performance-based incentives. A firm and knowledgeable home minister to introduce and enforce legislation to fight terrorism is overdue. Incompetent Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ministers who have brought inefficiencies into road construction must be given some other ministry. Power needs a clear-headed and firm hand.

The Congress might also develop an agreed programme and code of behaviour with its present allies with whom it will probably also fight the coming elections.

The Samajwadi Party never had any innocence to lose and has behaved with its customary cunning and ruthlessness. It needs to demonstrate that it is a serious political party if it is to play an important role in the next parliament. It needs more basic policies that are for the nation and not merely for families and friends.

The BSP and Mayavati have displayed consistency. She was always out to grab the leadership position and she has now made the Left ideologue and political innocent, Karat, eat humble pie by becoming her second fiddle. He has certainly lost his veneer of innocence by accepting shady deals and shadier partners. Mayavati herself needs crash courses on India and aspects of its governance if she is to be different from the short-term prime ministers like Gulzarilal Nanda, Charan Singh, H.D. Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral and Chandra Sekhar.

Telugu Desam to the National Democratic Alliance was like the communists to the UPA, the power behind the throne. It was unprincipled in accepting many favours from the NDA for five years. It saw opportunity for a similar position with the new United National Progressive Alliance. N. Chandrababu Naidu has lost his carefully cultivated image of a master political CEO and stands revealed as a small time grabber of the crumbs from the table of his new boss, Mayavati.

Bit players like Deve Gowda (prime minister for six months at the mercy of Lalu Prasad and Sitaram Kesri), Ajit Singh, and other such remain opportunists, negotiating the best deals, financially, for ministries, or creating their own state. These fringe players can be eliminated only if the national parties behave more responsibly.

What about the holier-than-thou BJP? Clearly, the BJP was also in the game to get defectors to vote on their side. They failed and instead lost eight MPs to the ‘for’ vote. L.K. Advani appeared to be against the government, not the nuclear deal. Despite his seniority as a parliamentarian he irresponsibly permitted the obscene sight of vast sums of money in thousand-rupee notes to be brought and dumped in the well of parliament. He should instead have gone straight to the speaker.

The ‘sting’ the BJP organized with a national television channel that did not air it, demonstrates that it was inept in attracting numbers. The BJP, with an octogenarian prime ministerial candidate, is not a true successor to the Vajpayee-Brajesh Mishra combine. That had principles and policies. Advani’s BJP is willing to abandon the nuclear deal that was a culmination of Vajpayee’s efforts in office. It is now talking of opposing the same economic reforms that Vajpayee pushed. The BJP’s redemption will lie in recognizing true national interests and not in unprincipled opposition. It needs a younger leader, more capable administratively, and a visionary, not a formerly good party organizer.