THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - May 18, 2018 - Topic 1
Arbitrary, capricious: on Karnataka mandate
In summarily ignoring the
claim of H.D. Kumaraswamy, Karnataka
Governor Vajubhai Vala abandoned both propriety
and common sense, acting in a politically partisan manner unbecoming of his
office. Mr. Kumaraswamy was elected leader of the Janata Dal (Secular)
Legislature Party and, with the declared support of the Congress, had the
backing of a majority in the newly elected Assembly. The leader of the BJP
Legislature Party, B.S. Yeddyurappa, offered no demonstrable proof of majority,
but was invited to form the government, and given all of 15 days to prove he
had the confidence of the House, solely on the basis of being the leader of the
single largest party.
Far from ushering in a stable government, the Governor
unbolted the doors to allow room for the BJP to try to engineer defections. In
situations such as these, the Constitution allows an element of discretion to
the Governor, but this power was never meant to be used arbitrarily and
capriciously. In defence of the Governor’s action, BJP leaders have cited
the Bommai judgment, which ruled on the course open for the Governor
in the event of a Chief Minister losing majority in the House, but offered no
opinion on a post-poll situation, where it said the Governor had to “invite the
leader of the party commanding majority in the House or the single largest
party/group to form the government.” Nothing in the judgment privileges the
single largest party over the largest group when it comes to being given the
first shot at forming a government.
The BJP leaders have now
staked out positions that are at odds with those they adopted after the
Assembly elections in Manipur and Goa, when the single largest party, the
Congress, was denied a chance to form the government. Union Law Minister Ravi
Shankar Prasad had a weak defence on this turnaround: the Congress, he claimed,
had not staked a claim in those two States. The Congress has taken the fight to
the Supreme Court, which has asked the Attorney General to produce the letters
written by Mr. Yeddyurappa to the Governor in support of his claim. When the
members of the Congress and the JD(S) together constitute a majority in the
House, it is unclear what letters Mr. Yeddyurappa could have presented to the
Governor. No matter how things turn out from here on, the BJP has emerged as a
bad loser. The party played a smart hand in Goa and Manipur to deny the
Congress, but is unable to accept defeat in Karnataka when beaten at its own
game. Politics is not always about reaching for power; sometimes it is also
about learning to sit in the Opposition. After all, power is only one of the
means of politics, not one of its ends. The BJP may have bested the Congress in
Karnataka, but it may not have paid the price for this victory yet.
Vocabulary
Claim: a demand or request
for something considered one's due.
Example: The court had denied
their claims to asylum
Synonyms: request, application, demand, petition
Abandoned: having been deserted
or cast off.
Example: An abandoned car
Synonyms: deserted, forsaken, cast
aside/off, jilted, stranded, rejected
Demonstrable: clearly apparent or
capable of being logically proved.
Example: The demonstrable
injustices of racism
Synonyms: verifiable, provable, attestable, verified, proven, confirmed, obvious
Confidence: the feeling or belief
that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
Example: We had every
confidence in the staff
Synonyms: trust, belief, faith, credence, conviction
Capricious: given to sudden and
unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
Example: A capricious and often
brutal administration
Synonyms: fickle, inconstant, changeable, variable, mercurial, volatile
Privileges: a special right,
advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or
group of people.
Example: Education is a right,
not a privilege
Synonyms: advantage, benefit, prerogative, entitlement, right, concession
Claim: an assertion of the
truth of something, typically one that is disputed or in doubt.
Example: He was dogged by the
claim that he had CIA links
Synonyms: assertion, declaration, profession, affirmation, avowal, protestation
Constitute: give legal or
constitutional form to (an institution); establish by law.
Example: The Tribunal is
specially constituted to make such decisions and they did not give rise to a
question of law.
Synonyms: inaugurate, establish, initiate, found, create, set
up, start, form
Accept: consent to receive a
thing offered
Example: He accepted a pen as a
present
Synonyms: receive, take, get, gain, obtain, acquire
Bested: outwit or get the
better of someone
Example: She refused to allow
herself to be bested
Synonyms: defeat, beat, get
the better of, outdo, outwit, outsmart
