NATIONAL POLITICS
The Hindustan Times Report, 22 November
President S.D. Sharma accepting Mr. C.K. Jaffer Sharief's resignation from the Union Cabinet on the advice of the Prime Minister. Mr. Sharief's resignation was announced by the Rashtrapati Bhawan today Individuals not matter. Whether the Muslims will vote or not vote (for the Congress) will depend on different issues altogether. It will depend on the problems of the Muslims, their security and economic needs.
The Congress had given the 'go-by to aggressive secularism'. He said he saw some distortion in the secularism practised by the party now as compared to the days of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. "The Government is irrelevant. Its tenure will be for three or four months. What is more important to me is to educate the people and build a strong and secular polity of the nation".More than jobs the minorities were worried about safety, honour and dignity and they were looking for people who would ensure that.
"There is no point in saying something for the sake of it. The Prime Minister or the Home Minister or those at the helm should address themselves to the issue of building confidence (among minorities). That is where aggressive secularism is required".
UNI Report, 22 November, 1995
The 'aggressive' secularism pursued by Prime Ministers belonging to the Congress in the past, had somewhat been diluted.
This was because some elements in the party spoke both ways. If the party could get rid of such elements, it still had a future. People at the helm of affairs, be it the Prime Minister or the Home Minister (should) address themselves to the problems of minorities.
The Babari Masjid demolition had hurt them both "religiously and physically. We have to build their confidence in us".Now that (I am) free from ministerial responsibility, I would educate the people on the need to strengthen secularism. We have to work for secular polity. I would continue to be in the party if he was needed.
The minorities would look for safety, security, dignity and honour for them from a political party. That was why leaders like Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar and Mulayam Singh Yadav in UttarPradesh were looked upon as saviours.
Mr. Sharief said (I am) a 'small man' and could not claim to be a spokesman for minorities. No party, including the Congress had opposed the statement of Bharatiya Janata Party chief L.K. Advani on the need for a relook at the Constitution.
Out at Last
Editorial, The Hindustan Times, 24 Nov. 1995
Except Mr. Jaffer Sharief, few would shed tears over his exit from the Union Cabinet... A Union Minister cannot afford to adopt a sectarian approach in politics. By taking up the cause of the Muslims too often,
Mr. Sharief had shown his cagerness to emerge as a leader of the community to which he belongs. In other words, he got himself too much involved in vote-bank politics. If each Minister plays the role of a defender of his community, the main casualty will be his national perspective. Mr. Sharief had also gone wrong in during the fag end of his career as Minister posing threats to the Prime Minister, maybe indirectly, that the Muslims would turn against the Congress if he was not retained in the Cabinet. The prerogative of the Prime Minister to appoint or sack his Cabinet colleagues is unquestionable in a parliamentary democracy. Mr. Sharief had also made himself more vulnerable politically by not promptly. resigning when the Prime Minister had deprived him of the portfolio of Railways. It is still early to write him off politically. In Karnataka, he still enjoys some clout... The Congress needs support from all sections... It cannot afford to antagonise even Mr. Sharief Down, but not out.
Editorial, The Patriot, 25 November, 1995
The resignation of Mr. C.K. Jaffer Sharief, Minister without portfolio, was not unexpected. Obvious was Mr. Sharief's patently sectarian approach of fanning Muslim sentiments and using that as a crutch to put pressure on Mr. Rao. Indeed, he was only too aware of his community's anti-Congress feelings following the Ayodhya disaster of December 1992. The former Union Minister for Railways was probably looking for an appropriate moment to play the Muslim card again. Astutely, he rued the abandonment of 'aggressive secularism' typified by the Nehru-Gandhi family, by the present run of Congress leadership. No doubt, Mr. Sharief wanted to kill two birds with one stone.
Mr. Sharief's action may be a cause of concern for the Congress which, by and large, has lost its Muslim vote-bank. It is also likely to win him the sympathy of his co-religionists. The political scenario in his home State, Karnataka, may have been yet another consideration. In Karnataka, where the JD is in power and the BJP has emerged as the second major opposition, Mr. Sharief would like to win the backing of his community. Alignment and realignment of forces are normal features of democratic politics. It might be unwise to write him off. He is a political player of some standing and needs to be watched.
