Johnson has only himself to blame

Boris Johnson’s resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party in Britain was becoming a fait accompli with minister after minister resigning from his council of ministers. What’s worse, even those whom he appointed a few days earlier began to submit their resignation. The number of such officials who have quit in the recent past is 50. How could he continue as leader of the Tories when the ground beneath him was caving in? In short, his continuance as leader had become untenable. Johnson has himself admitted that the party was no longer with him when he finally announced his resignation. He could also not have ignored the fact that efforts were on to find ways to remove him from both the leadership of the party and the government. It is a different matter that as he won a Trust vote recently, a no-confidence motion cannot be tabled against him within a year of the vote. But, then, the unwritten Constitution can be creatively used to deal with any political eventuality. Small wonder that Johnson saw the writing on the wall and tendered his resignation.

The prime minister has scotched rumours while stating that the process to elect his successor has been set in motion. Hopefully, a new prime minister will be in place by the end of next week. While leaving the party post, he has squarely blamed his colleagues who resigned one by one, for their “herd mentality”. What he implied was that they had no specific reasons for ditching. He took pride in his achievements, including getting Brexit done, getting the UK through the pandemic and leading the West in standing up to Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He neglected to realise that he had a dark underbelly visible to one and all. There were at least five scandals, including ‘party-gate’ and the ‘Pincher affair', that showed his government in a poor light. The laxity with which he dealt with Covid-19 protocols, and his insensitivity in partying when the government was in a state of mourning, did not redound to his credit as prime minister. In other words, he has only himself to blame for his downfall. Finding a successor to Johnson is easier said than done. It calls for the collective wisdom of the party, at a time when Britain needs effective leadership.

Paying price for rash words

The resignation of Kerala’s minister for culture Saji Cherian is an example for all those who wield power. While conducting a study class for the CPM workers, he made remarks against the Indian Constitution which have no basis at all. He said it was an instrument of exploitation of the people and added that it was dictated by the British while leaving the country. He used unacceptable colloquial words while spelling out a portion of the Preamble of the Constitution. He forgot that he became a minister only after professing his unconditional faith in the Constitution. He was duty-bound to uphold the Constitutional values at all times. His one-hour-long speech was, in fact, a diatribe against the Constitution which was drafted by the Constituent Assembly after an elaborate debate on each of its provisions. There are records available about the kind of arguments every member made while the Constitution was approved, signed and sealed by the members including Dr BR Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari and Sardar Patel. There are laws that prescribe deterrent punishment for those ridiculing national symbols like the flag, the national anthem and the Constitution.

The minister could have saved his face by unconditionally apologising to the nation. Far from that, he sought to blame the media for twisting his speech and quoting his words out of context. In that case, his local party leaders should have retained on their website the full video of his speech. Actually, he forfeited his right to remain a minister after ridiculing the Constitution from which alone he drew power. If the CPM thinks that the matter is over, as can be inferred from party chief Sitaram Yechury’s comment, it is mistaken. If he can’t remain a minister after attacking the Constitution, how can he remain a member of the Kerala Assembly? There, too, he became a member only after proclaiming his allegiance to the Constitution. It is against this backdrop that a judge in Thiruvalla has ordered the police to file a case against Cherian. What he has committed is a cognisable offence, the rigours of which he could have lessened by humbly accepting his guilt and seeking mercy. His present stance of defiance will only worsen the situation for him. Saji Cherian’s fall is a lesson for all the loudmouths who are unable to control their tongue when they find an audience and a microphone before them.