The Hindu : A different tune in 1996

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 19, 2004

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A different tune in 1996

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI, FEB. 18. Public memory is short, but it seems that the memory of politicians is shorter. A few days ago, the Vajpayee Government forwarded to the Election Commission a request that the privilege of the Prime Minister to use government aircraft during electioneering be extended to the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani. The Government, perhaps, forgot that the Bharatiya Janata Party's considered opinion in 1996, when Mr. Advani was party president, was quite the opposite.

In April 1996, just before the Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Advani had demanded that in order not to give any unfair advantage to the ruling party, the Election Commission should withdraw the Prime Minister's privilege and prerogative to use government aircraft for campaigning. The BJP had formally written to the Election Commission on the subject.

The party's argument was that the Commission should ban the use of government aircraft by the Prime Minister in order "to guarantee that the ruling party does not have any advantage over the Opposition." What it had demanded was a "level playing field." In fact, at a press conference held in Bangalore on April 12, 1996, and reported by newspapers, Mr. Advani had himself forcefully argued the party's case. His view was that "in the alternative, if permission to use government aircraft or any concession is extended to the Prime Minister, it should also be extended to the Leader of the Opposition."

The then Chief Election Commissioner, T.N. Seshan, gave his ruling before the beginning of the polls. The Election Commission rejected the BJP's plea, and while it allowed the Prime Minister to use government aircraft primarily for security concerns, the facility was not extended to the Leader of the Opposition or anybody else. In fact, the facility stood withdrawn for the Chief Ministers, irrespective of security concerns, and several Chief Ministers, including the then West Bengal Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu, expressed their resentment. Till then, the Chief Ministers felt unhampered by the niceties of any code of conduct while using State-owned planes and helicopters for campaigning.

Now what the BJP has demanded is that the "facility" available to the Prime Minister should also be extended to the Deputy Prime Minister. No mention of the Leader of the Opposition. When the party general secretary, Pramod Mahajan, was asked for his comments on the divergence between the party's stand in 1996 and now, his response was: "I do not remember."

The Commission is yet to give its ruling on the Vajpayee Government's request.

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