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Journalism of Courage
He will turn 75 this November 5, but the party has already begun.
Sparking a buzz of speculation in the Congress, PM Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and four party CMs headed the starcast at the Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, which began today with a function at the Siri Fort auditorium to release eight volumes on the life of Arjun Singh, veteran leader and Union HRD Minister.
And true to form, the event was marked by chaos, especially at the entrance gates with many VIP invitees being forced to turn back. The lucky ones, like Karnataka CM Dharam Singh, were spotted pushing their way in with great difficulty.
The other CMs who came specially for the function included J&K’s Mufti Mohammed Sayeed and Uttaranchal’s N D Tiwari, who was Arjun Singh’s comrade-in-arms when the party broke to form the breakaway T faction.
Also present was Sheila Dixit, another erstwhile Congress (T) leader, who just about managed to retain her Delhi chair this week.
With Amrit Mahotsav posters plastered all over town today and some papers bringing out special supplements, Arjun Singh’s two grandchildren presented bouquets to the PM, Sonia and other guests on the dais—the political significance was clear.
As a senior Congress leader and Arjun admirer summed it: ‘‘The message that came through was if something happens, there is Arjun Singh to take over.’’
Politically crafty, an able administrator and experienced organisation hand with 50 years of public life behind him—as Madhya Pradesh CM, party V-P, architect of the Rajiv Gandhi-Longowal accord and HRD Minister—Arjun Singh, his supporters at Siri Fort said, ‘‘is a person who will never betray the Gandhi-Nehru family’’.
He, they said, is ‘‘the best advisor available to the Congress party today’’. In fact, the eighth volume released today features him as the ‘‘nurturer of the Nehru-Gandhi legacy’’.
Once again, true to form, the party had its share of sour moments with some of his supporters blaming Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for trying to “sabotage” the function.
Although Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee presided over the event, many leading politicians could not come because they were told their presence was required in the House.
The prominent absentees included Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister Shivraj Patil and many senior UPA and Opposition leaders. Among those present were Kamal Nath, Jaipal Reddy and Ahmed Patel.
But clearly, it was very much a Congress function as speakers, including Arjun Singh, addressed Sonia Gandhi first, even before the PM—the sole exception was Speaker Chatterjee. In fact, Sonia had to gently nudge Singh forward to light the customary lamp first.
Sonia, in a brief speech delivered in Hindi, said that at 75, one has normally fulfilled one’s responsibilities and seen the ‘‘ups and downs’’ of life and tasted the ‘‘vish’’ (poison) and ‘‘amrit’’ (nectar). Arjun Singh was lucky, she said, because his graph had consistently moved up, and he had won people’s respect.
PM Singh complimented Singh for his vision for a backward state like Madhya Pradesh, ending with: ‘‘Tum jeeyo hazaron saal, har saal ke din ho pachaas hazar (May you live for a 1,000 years with each year having 50,000 days).’’
In his speech, Arjun Singh spoke of “having walked in the shadow of destiny” during his life.
Six events had influenced him, he said:
• Watching the funeral of Mahatma Gandhi
• Nehru placing his hand on his head in 1960 and urging him to serve the country
• Nehru introducing him to Indira Gandhi with the words, ‘‘He will work under your leadership as a committed Congress worker’’
• Rajiv Gandhi sending him to Punjab to sign the accord
