End of an era: Next LS will miss many veterans

By M H Ahssan

With end of the 14th Lok Sabha, the curtain is also descending on the careers of legendary parliamentarians like former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Speaker Somnath Chatterje speeches have stirred the House over decades.

Along with the late Chandra Shekhar and A B A Ghani Khan Chaudhary, the next Lok Sabha will miss the veterans who had been such a part of Lok Sabha that it is almost unthinkable to image the House meeting without them. Yet, just as all things must come to an end, time has run out for Lok Sabha’s golden oldies.

The reasons, apart from death as in the case of Chandra Shekhar and Chaudhary, have varied. In the case of Fernandes, exit from centrestage has been involuntary with JD(U) telling him that it did not feel his health would permit him to campaign. Fernandes has refused to accept the offer of a Rajya Sabha seat and declared his intention to contest from what has been his happy hunting ground of Muzaffarpur.

Ill health is also why Vajpayee has opted out of the poll race this time. Ever since the leader suffered a brain stroke in 2007, his public appearances have been rare and he had to be recently hospitalised again. Those who have met him say that his mental faculties are intact and he can recognise people and react to events, but his speech and movements have been affected. No longer will he be able to hold Parliament in a thrall as he did as an Opposition MP and then as PM.

Vajpayee enjoyed being in Parliament and as Leader of Opposition, his use of satire and wit to attack the government of the day stands out. As PM he was able to ride out potentially embarrassing situations like the resignation of long-time associate and law minister Ram Jethmalani. Similarly, Chatterjee has been a near permanent fixture and while his tenure as Speaker has been controversial, his performance as the leading CPM MP in the past has stood out.

Chatterjee’s famous break with CPM has led to the leader announcing that he will no longer contest elections from Bolpur. In his farewell address to the House, he strongly justified his decision to stick on as Speaker despite his party asking him to resign. His decision to become an ally of the government and thereafter take on the Left was controversial but he did get a degree of public support for his criticism of unruly behaviour in the House.

Chandra Shekhar was a lone ranger in Parliament, the sole representative of his SJP. But whenever he rose to intone “Adyakshakji, desh kahan ja raha hai (Speaker sir, where is the country headed)” he held everyone’s attention. The chair deferred to him and the ruling benches, even when they violently disagreed, had to hear him out patiently. It never ever crossed his mind that his glory days of a “young Turk” were behind him. As far as he was concerned, they never ended.

In this august company, Chaudhary seems a bit of a lightweight and in terms of marking a presence in Parliament, he was a top drawer.