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Then arose in the country a crisis the like of which no previous President had ever faced

The first constitutional crisis in Independent India involved President Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy and the Janata Party government. That controversy more than anything since defined the President's role when events like the present political upheaval occur.

In our continued effort to keep readers abreast of current developments and informed about historical precedent, we reproduce a relevant extract from President Reddy's acclaimed biography, with the kind courtesy of its publisher.

The resemblance to the present political situation is uncanny.

Things happen in the political career of some leaders forcing them to face challenging and perplexing situations marked by constitutional crises. Such an unprecedented situation arose in July/August, 1979 owing to the tabling of a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by the leader of the Opposition Y B Chavan on the eve of the monsoon session of the parliament in July 1979.

Even before the motion was set for debate and put to vote, members from the Bharatiya Lok Dal, a constituent of the Janata Parliamentary Party led by Raj Narain, began to cross the floor of the Lok Sabha and finally requested Speaker Hedge to allot separate seats for them on the opposition side under the banner of Janata (Secular). But curiously the leader of the BLD, Charan Singh, continued to remain in the Janata government as deputy prime minister with the finance portfolio.

The situation grew curiouser and curiouser and finally led to Morarji Desai's resignation from the prime ministership, paving the way for Charan Singh's exit from the Janata Party and joining the Janata (S) to become its leader in the Lok Sabha.

Then arose in the country a crisis the like of which no previous President had ever faced. As luck would have it, there had all along existed in India a strong, stable and homogenous Congress party government at the Centre. President Reddy was called upon to solve the constitutional crisis.

Although he was known for his speedy decision-making, he had to weigh and balance all considerations. As there were no precedents to guide him, he was left to his own resources. He rose to the occasion and proved his grit by handling and solving the crisis without fear or flinching, guided by his desire 'to protect and preserve the integrity of the nation.'

After holding a series of consultations with various groups and political personalities, the President decided to follow the British convention, and invited Y B Chavan, leader of the Opposition, perhaps to Chavan's and his party's pleasant surprise, and offered him the first chance to explore the ways and means to form a viable alternative government. Thus he set the ball rolling.

After four days of hectic politicking, consultations and in-camera meetings with Charan Singh and other party leaders (with the exception of Indira Gandhi's Congress Parliamentary Party leader C M Stephen) Chavan pleaded his inability to form a government. Then started a series of meetings and talks among the leaders of the splinter groups which had made the task of the President more difficult.

In the meanwhile, Jayaprakash Narayan, who was suffering from acute kidney trouble and was kept on dialysis in his home town, Patna, addressed a communication to Morarji Desai requesting him to step down from the leadership of the Janata Parliamentary Party and see that Jagjivan Ram was elected in his place. The quest for unity was in vain.

Jayaprakash Narayan Desai struck to his guns and refused to relinquish his leadership of the Janata Parliamentary Party and sent Chandra Shekhar, the Janata Party president, and others as emissaries to the President with a view to persuading him to invite him (Morarji) again to form the government much to the amusement of even the layman in the street and to the embarrassment of the President himself.

Then Charan Singh challenged the contention of Morarji Desai, who resigned as prime minister even before facing the impending no-confidence motion tabled by Y B Chavan, and dubbed Morarji's plea to the President as totally unethical and un-Gandhian.

Kind courtesy: From Farm House to Rashtrapati Bhavan, by I V Chalapati Rao and P Audinarayana Reddy, Booklinks Corporation, Hyderabad, 1989.

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