NSA Doval crosses the line

It is a matter of regret that national security advisor Ajit Doval should foray into the field of straightforward politics, as he did recently while delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture. If by some unfortunate chance, others in the bureaucracy were to follow suit, the idea of fair play can vanish from our polity and from the running of state structures as factions along partisan lines can emerge in the official machinery, to the detriment of public welfare. In the most nightmarish situation, officials would take a step only if it is of benefit to the ruling party as such an attitude will be seen as the surest way to personal advancement.

Mr Doval said that a “strong, stable and decisive” government and leadership was needed for the next ten years in order to achieve political, economic and strategic objectives. “Weak coalitions” will be “bad” for the country, he suggested.

This line of thought lays the NSA open to the charge of playing partisan BJP politics, for it is likely that if Mr Modi did not make it in the next election, the successor government would be a coalition. The NSA has already passed the judgment that any coalition will be “weak” and incapable of taking “hard decisions”.

The record, in fact, suggests that the Modi regime, touted as a “strong” government, has failed to achieve nearly all of its objectives in contrast with the many bold gains for the country under the previous UPA coalition.