All of Gurgaon’s seen the Judeo video but in Sector 14 no one’s complaining. Because this is where Natwar Rateria — he’s the man who does all the talking while his friend and boss is filmed accepting cash — lives with his wife and son. From the time The Sunday Express unspooled the video to nail Dilip Singh Judeo, Rateria has done the disappearing act. But wife Saroj and son Vikram are unflapped: ‘‘Aise chaal to politics ka daana paani hai (Such tricks are very common in politics).’’ CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE EXCLUSIVE VIDEO They say he’s going to bounce back and campaign for Judeo with greater gusto in Chhattisgarh. ‘‘Hamari biradiri ki unse saat peedyion ki pehchaan hai. Aaj ki nahin. (We have known each other for seven generations. It’s not as if we have got to know him only today,’’ maintains Saroj about the family’s links with Judeo. The Raterias live in a large rented bungalow. Neighbours say they have never seen Natwar but his landlord likes him because he minds his own business. His family says he calls once a day from Raipur to check on their well-being. They don’t say where exactly is he: but he will be back, they tell you. Saroj lives with younger son Vikram who attends school in Gurgaon. The daughter married a Mumbai businessman recently. Elder son Abhishek is in the US, pursuing automobile engineering. Incidentally, it was the automobile trade that 43-year-old Natwar busied himself in before he switched to politics and Judeo. In the Eighties, Rateria’s father bagged an automobile dealership for Raigarh and Ambikapur regions and the old man continues to do brisk business back home. Saroj says her husband moved to Gurgaon because he wanted to be on his own. Natwar floated a partnership firm to transport Maruti cars on trailer trolleys. Business was good but he later decided to wind up the firm and take to active politics full time. When Judeo became a Minister of State and asked him to join his personal staff, Natwar promptly said yes. Younger son Vikram refers to Judeo as ‘‘Uncle’’ and doesn’t really believe the video tape will harm them: ‘‘This is some sort of a conspiracy. Judeo Uncle is not the sort of person who will accept bundles of cash from anyone. Why should we be worried?’’ There’s a third person with whom Natwar has been in touch ever since he disappeared: his landlord, newsprint trader Suresh Chand Gupta. He says he spoke to Natwar the day the tapes were being aired on TV: ‘‘On telephone, he did not sound too worried. I can say for sure he is very close to Judeo who has visited this house several times. They will surely bounce back.’’ • Excerpts from the transcript of the VCD
