She in turn used Congress leaders
to keep an eye on him, says new book. Author Vinay Sitapati, who got
unprecedented access to Rao’s personal papers, writes for The Indian Express.
Written by Vinay Sitapati | New
Delhi |
Updated: June 24, 2016 8:30:35 pm
In May 1995, his relationship
with Sonia Gandhi in
tatters, Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao asked the Intelligence Bureau (IB) a
simple question. How many of his cabinet hopefuls were “pro-high command”
(pro-Rao), how many were “pro-10 Janpath”?
The IB, tasked with protecting
the nation from domestic enemies, replied with a list of names. Written in
columns next to the name were the person’s ‘state’, ‘caste’, ‘age’, ‘loyalty’,
‘comments’. For example, next to “M S Aiyar” it was written “Tamil Nadu,
Brahmin, 52, pro-10 Janpath, was critical of handling of Ayodhya issue by the
PM. Took care of party interests in JPC on bank scam.” Next to “Margaret Alva”
it was “Karnataka, Christian, 53, pro-high command, political lightweight,
could be dropped if adjusted suitably in organisation otherwise Christians of
Karnataka may react adversely”.
The list ends with the names of
leaders to be considered for “appointment to organisational posts”. Topping the
list was “Sharad Pawar… Maharashtra, Maratha, doubtful, a good organiser and
influential leader. Could prove useful”.
This was not the first time Rao
had used the IB to counter Sonia’s influence. On December 7, 1992, the day
after the demolition of the Babri Masjid, Rao posted an IB official at 10,
Janpath, to check which Congressmen were tattling on him. The IB report even
mentioned a conversation within the bungalow: “During the course of discussions
with Sonia Gandhi, Arjun Singh, Digvijay Singh, A K Jogi, Salamatullah and
Ahmed Patel… reportedly expressed their unhappiness with the handling of the
situation (Babri demolition) including by the Prime Minister”.
While the PM was using his
government to keep tabs on Sonia Gandhi, she was using the Congress party to
keep tabs on him.
Sonia had spent the first two
years of Rao’s prime ministership grieving for her dead husband. But after
1992, Sonia began to cultivate Congressmen who opposed Rao. Arjun Singh,
N D Tiwari, K Natwar Singh and
others routinely met Sonia to complain about the Prime Minister. Though there
is no direct evidence, she likely blessed the Congress splinter group led by N
D Tiwari. A minister of the time says: “Sonia Gandhi knew even what was
discussed in cabinet meetings. Many (cabinet members) would go and tell her.”
These and other revelations,
culled from exclusive access to cartons of Rao’s private papers as well as
interviews with over a 100 people, form part of the forthcoming book Half-Lion:
How P V Narasimha Rao Transformed India. The book will be available from June
27.
Rao was unloved by his people,
hated by his party, a minority in Parliament, and beholden to 10, Janpath. He
was nonetheless able to re-invent India’s economy, international relations,
internal security, welfare schemes, and the nuclear programme. Through 318
pages and over 1,000 footnotes, the book chronicles how Rao’s ability to assess
the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents — and play mouse, fox, or lion as
need be — was central to his transformation of India.
Rao’s sophistication in dealing
with Sonia Gandhi reflected his ability to play both mouse and lion. He never
publicly criticised Sonia, not even when she accused him in August 1995 of
going slow on the investigation into her husband’s assassination. But he kept
tabs on her movements, and never allowed Sonia or those close to her to
influence his government’s policies. Though Narasimha Rao, along with Manmohan Singh,
‘packaged’ economic liberalisation as an extension of Rajiv Gandhi’s vision,
he never let that affect the substance of policies.
Where Rao failed in his
management of Sonia Gandhi was after he resigned as Prime Minister. When Sonia
returned to the party in 1998, she (along with advisors such as Arjun Singh)
was determined to erase Rao from the Congress pantheon. Rao was blamed for
complicity in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, letting Union Carbide’s Warren Anderson
escape after the Bhopal gas leak, and, above all, for conspiring to demolish
the Babri Masjid.
When Rao died in December 2004,
his family wanted the body cremated in Delhi. “This is his karmabhoomi”, Rao’s
son Prabhakara told Manmohan Singh. But Sonia’s closest aides ensured that the
body was moved to Hyderabad. Prabhakara alleges, “Soniaji did not want… him to
be seen as an all-India leader”.
The day after his death, Rao’s
funeral procession left his Delhi house at 9, Motilal Nehru Marg for the
airport to fly his body to Hyderabad. On the way, they stopped outside the Congress
headquarters at 24, Akbar Road. The convention was that senior leaders,
especially past presidents, would have their bodies taken inside, so that party
workers could pay their respects. But Rao’s body was made to wait outside on
the wintry pavement, while the gate remained locked. “Only one person could
give that order (to open the gate),” a senior Congressman who was present
remembers. “She did not give it.”
The night of Rao’s cremation in
Hyderabad, TV channels showed visuals of the pyre. The man who transformed
India, a 20th century reformer of the stature of Deng Xiaoping, had been left
abandoned, body half-burnt. Stray dogs were pulling at the funeral pyre.
