Whichever way one looks at it, Ramaswami Venkataraman rates among the better presidents that the country has had. His death recently at the age of 98 marks a break with the past. The values that he imbibed during the Gandhi-Nehru era remained with him all his life and he was acknowledged as a stickler for rules. He had been associated in various capacities with ail the country's prime ministers from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh. But by the time he became the country's eighth president in 1987, there had been considerable erosion in values in public life. The coalition era had also dawned, which he personally disproved of. But it goes to his credit that he gave sage advice to all the prime ministers - Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh, Chandra Shekhar and PV Narasimha Rao. To that extent he was a copybook President.
During his stint from 1987 to 1992 that coincided with period of political instability that saw him work with four prime ministers, Venkataraman drew upon his deep knowledge of the Constitution and parliamentary procedures and precedents. Not given to presidential overreach, he was a stickler for rules, avoided needless controversies, and gave the presidency a quiet dignity and stateliness. At no time did he stretch the limits of presidential discretion, always taking care not to entertain appeals over the head of the political government.
Indeed, Venkataraman, who saw the British monarch as the model for the Indian president, argued that it was safer to go by the British precedent of accepting the recommendation of the prime minister on dissolution of the House rather than rely on erudite and eminent textbook writers. In 1989, when the general election threw up a hung Lok Sabha, Venkataraman decided to give the first opportunity to form a government to the leader of the single largest party, rather than take up the exercise of assessing the strength of any postelection combination of parties. Again, a rule that would minimise the role of presidential discretion applied.
But the pulls and pressures of coalition politics were taking their toll on the country, and as a remedy he floated the idea of a national government. Since it did not suit the conflicting ambitions of some politicians, it could never get off the ground. During his presidential years, which he later recounted in a book of that name, he had to bring all his administrative acumen and sense offair play into operation while deciding on a tricky situation created by the Sri Lankan crisis, the Bofors gun deal, the assassination ofRajiv Gandhi, the stocks scam, and the Defamation Bill.
He had left his mark on the national scene earlier also, be it in his capacity as the vice-president or while holding important portfolios such as industry, finance and defence. He also had a major role to play in the industrialisation of Tamil Nadu. It is this efficiency which brought him to Delhi and he made his mark as Planning Commission member and president of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. A lawyer by profession, he was an excellent speaker and impressed everyone during his three Lok Sabha terms. Even after demitting office he remained actively associated with various music associations and the institutions of Shankaracharyas. The regulated life that he led helped him remain active right till the ripe age of 98.
During his stint from 1987 to 1992 that coincided with period of political instability that saw him work with four prime ministers, Venkataraman drew upon his deep knowledge of the Constitution and parliamentary procedures and precedents. Not given to presidential overreach, he was a stickler for rules, avoided needless controversies, and gave the presidency a quiet dignity and stateliness. At no time did he stretch the limits of presidential discretion, always taking care not to entertain appeals over the head of the political government.
Indeed, Venkataraman, who saw the British monarch as the model for the Indian president, argued that it was safer to go by the British precedent of accepting the recommendation of the prime minister on dissolution of the House rather than rely on erudite and eminent textbook writers. In 1989, when the general election threw up a hung Lok Sabha, Venkataraman decided to give the first opportunity to form a government to the leader of the single largest party, rather than take up the exercise of assessing the strength of any postelection combination of parties. Again, a rule that would minimise the role of presidential discretion applied.
But the pulls and pressures of coalition politics were taking their toll on the country, and as a remedy he floated the idea of a national government. Since it did not suit the conflicting ambitions of some politicians, it could never get off the ground. During his presidential years, which he later recounted in a book of that name, he had to bring all his administrative acumen and sense offair play into operation while deciding on a tricky situation created by the Sri Lankan crisis, the Bofors gun deal, the assassination ofRajiv Gandhi, the stocks scam, and the Defamation Bill.
He had left his mark on the national scene earlier also, be it in his capacity as the vice-president or while holding important portfolios such as industry, finance and defence. He also had a major role to play in the industrialisation of Tamil Nadu. It is this efficiency which brought him to Delhi and he made his mark as Planning Commission member and president of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal. A lawyer by profession, he was an excellent speaker and impressed everyone during his three Lok Sabha terms. Even after demitting office he remained actively associated with various music associations and the institutions of Shankaracharyas. The regulated life that he led helped him remain active right till the ripe age of 98.
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