The Hindu Business Line : Hoist with one's own petard

In recent times, a group of politicians have strenuously put forth the view that, since a President has to deal with important matters of state which have more often than not deep political implications, he himself should belong to the political class.

There is another school of thought which holds that, since the President is the "first citizen" of the country — and a citizen does not necessarily have to be a politician to shine — there should be no hard and fast rule laying down the primacy of the political class as far as the office of the republic's President is concerned.

`Complete' citizen

Whether he turns out to be a "figurehead" or a "working" President, as the late K. R. Narayanan once preferred to describe himself, is a matter related to the persona of the person holding the high office. But the public yardstick should be a neutral one as between the callings and the professions, the claim to the office being tested solely on the ground of whether the candidate answers to the description of being a "complete" citizen in his not insubstantial accomplishments.

Indeed, there is a wide body of opinion which will challenge the constricted view that only a "senior" and "experienced" politician can hold the office of President because of the inference that non-politicians are simply not equipped for the job of the "first citizen" of the republic. This is a downright insult to the people at large not only because politicians cannot claim to be "better" citizens of the republic by definition (at least the Constitution does not say so), but also because politicians themselves are created by the people, their only job being to represent the populace in the legislative governance of the country. And the job of the "first citizen" is much, much wider than just legislative governance.

`Senior politician'

In fact, one wonders why and how those who are votaries of the "senior politicians only" line of thinking agreed to Ms Sonia Gandhi's choice for the President's office after the term of the present incumbent, Mr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, comes to an end next month. Women's empowerment is certainly important for the nation, but there is no link whatever between the "senior politician" requirement and gender issues, explicitly or implicitly.

Secondly, there is simply no "universality" of the political image of the person selected by the UPA and its allies, which certainly should be an important criterion for a politician who is thought fit to hold the President's office. After all, every single politician who has made it to Rashtrapati Bhavan has had an all-India image — whether acceptable or otherwise is of course a different matter altogether.

Always a politician

The point of this piece is that those who have had their way regarding the choice of a politician for the President's office should not be upset with the mudslinging that is currently on involving the candidate or candidates concerned. Indeed, someone has raised the point that the Vice-President himself has been actively engaged in the pre-poll politicking, which is not in keeping with his office.

This is strange. Why should politicians be expected to change colour once they become the President or the Vice-President of the republic? Politicians will always remain politicians, which is perhaps one reason why — according to one point of view — they should be barred from filling the office of the "first citizen" of the republic.

Ranabir Ray Choudhury