Arjun finds his mark

From being the most powerful regional satrap in the 1980s,a qualification that in the Congress vocabulary still translates as a threat to the high command,to a man who now lives as a recluse in Delhi with virtually no visitors,Singh would have liked to bow out of active politics on a better note.

Many thought the public outrage over the verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case and the consequent blame game over the safe passage given to then Union Carbide chief gave Singh just the big bargaining chip he needed to regain some of his lost glory.

Turning 80 soon,Singh may have done just that. By pointing a finger at the then home minister P V Narasimha Rao,his bitter rival,and giving a fawning clean chit to Rajiv,he may have worked out political rehabilitation,if not for himself at least for his children. True to form,in the course of the statement,Singh also took full credit for taking the decision to arrest Anderson.

As chief minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh,Singh had been all-powerful,handpicking bureaucrats,giving them complete freedom and expecting and getting total commitment in return. Quick to make decisions,he controlled the bureaucracy with an iron hand. His hold over the party affairs was even better and he always had the last word in distribution of tickets.

Old-timers recall his oft-repeated line to bureaucrats to relax the rules to get the work done. There were allegations of a Churhat lottery scam,but these werent proved. It was alleged that his family members ran a phoney lottery in Churhat village of Sidhi district,selling lotteries worth crores,and that winners included those who had not purchased tickets. A one-member commission set up on High Courts orders gave Singh and his family members a clean chit after protracted hearings.

There were other controversies too,like the one over his palatial bungalow on the outskirts of Bhopal. His detractors charged that the location of the bungalow away from the general population and its design like a kothi both reflected Singhs feudal nature.

However,none of that made a dent in Singhs clout in regional politics. A man of strong likes and dislikes,he cut the Shukla brothers Shyama Charan and Vidya Charan to size and was said to have patronised journalists who rarely wrote against him and remained committed to him.

However,by the 1980s his rising stock started to bother the Gandhi family,and he came to be seen as a threat. He was shunted out to Punjab as governor,a day after he took over the chief minister for the second time in March 1985.

Singh cites the Longowal Accord,signed when he was Punjab governor,as one of his achievements. His admirers agree that,contrary to the Congress high commands hopes,the stint away from Madhya Pradesh did not reduce his clout. He was made a Union minister after that,but again returned to Madhya Pradesh as the chief minister in 1988.

While Sanjay Gandhi had picked him up as one of the partys Thakur leaders,he did not get along well with Rajiv Gandhis confidants such as Arun Nehru.

The falling-out with Narasimha Rao came when the high command chose him to be prime minister in 1991 after Rajivs killing instead of Singh who,it was felt,could not be trusted. After the Babri Masjid demolition,he broke away,but even the breakaway faction was named after Uttar Pradesh leader N D Tiwari. Singhs fortunes have never been the same since then. He lost in 1996 and 1998,the last as Congress nominee from Hoshangabad. He had to nearly plead to return to the Congress,but never lost his ambitious streak. Singhs spiritual guru,the Ujjain-based Mauni Baba,once told him that he had Raj Yog,and having first fancied himself as prime minister,he later tried to become the President. But when he again failed,his wife famously complained,asking what Madam Sonia Gandhi would have lost had her husband been allowed to become the President,especially given his unflinching loyalty to the first family in Indian politics.

His stint in the UPA I government,as Union human resource development minister,was marked by controversies. These included his proposal to introduce 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in all central higher education institutes,including IITs and IIMs,despite objections; interference in the autonomy of IITs and IIMs; and sitting on reform-related recommendations made by the Prime Minister-appointed National Knowledge Commission. Many deemed universities cleared under his regime are now under a cloud.

Even as his one-time protege Digvijay Singh is now one of the most influential Congress leaders,Singh himself stands isolated. The two are in different camps in the party,despite Singhs son marrying a niece of Digvijay.

In the Lok Sabha elections,the Congress denied a ticket both to his son Ajay and daughter Veena,with the latter contesting as an Independent against the official party candidate.

Except for a small band of supporters and loyal bureaucrats,very few people call on him. His forays outside the Delhi bungalow are largely for health check-ups. Veena is among the only regular visitors along with Arjuns grandson Aishwarya and his wife Devyani. Incidentally,Devyani was the love interest of Nepals Crown Prince Dipendra,who allegedly massacred his family members before killing himself.

Described as Chanakya of politics a moniker he incidentally shares with Rao Singh has already written one book and is planning to release his memoirs by early next year.

With his surprise appearance in Parliament,Singh has piqued interest in them will these memoirs finally be the tell-all his speech in the House wasnt?