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Journalism of Courage
Dispelling the perception that had prevailed in 2004 that he was opposed to Sonia Gandhi becoming the Prime Minister,former President A P J Abdul Kalam has said in his latest book that he was ready to swear her in for the post notwithstanding pressure from various political parties.
The assertion by Kalam,who almost became a candidate in the 2012 Presidential election,too,however,has not found much appreciation from the political class with parties like JDU maintaining that the revelation may not be so relevant today. Had he Kalam spoken this in 2004,it would have carried a different level of moral force. The remarks do not carry that kind of moral force now as his revelation came eight years after the event had played out. The relevance it had at that time does not exist today, said JDU chief Sharad Yadav.
In his latest book,Turning points,an account of his five-year tenure as President,Kalam has contended that denying her the PM post would have been Constitutionally untenable and in spite of tremendous pressure from several political formations and individuals,he did not have much of a choice.
During this time,there were many political leaders who came to meet me to request me not to succumb to any pressure and appoint Mrs Gandhi as the prime minister,a request that would not have been Constitutionally tenable. If she had made any claim for herself I would have had no option but to appoint her, Kalam writes in his book.
Recalling the events of that time,Kalam hints in his book that he even had an appointment letter prepared requesting Gandhi to head the UPA government but reworked it after she nominated Singh as Prime Minister. I had applied my mind totally in an unbiased manner after eliciting opinions from legal and constitutional experts. The primary aim of all the decisions was to protect and nurture the sanctity and robustness of our Constitution.
PM wanted to know why Office of Profit Bill delayed
Former president A P J Abdul Kalam has thrown a subtle hint that he faced pressure from PM Manmohan Singh to hasten with the Office of Profit Bill in 2006,though he justified delay from his side saying it was because of concerns over certain provisions of the draft legislation than any link to the controversy surrounding Sonia Gandhi at that time. In his book Turning Point,Kalam said he sent the Bill to Parliament for reconsideration,a first by any President,but it was done after discussing his concerns with his team and three former SC chief justices. Kalam said he favoured a fair and reasonable criteria for exempting a particular office from provisions of the Bill. The Prime Minister met me and he was surprised,as I normally send the approved Bill the next day. Why were weeks rolling by with no action taken? he wondered, Kalam wrote.
Vajpayee did not want me to visit riot-hit Godhra
Just a month after he took over over as President,A P J Abdul Kalam had decided to undertake an official visit to riot-hit Godhra in August 2002 not only against the advice of the government and the bureaucracy but against a clear disinclination expressed by the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In his book Turning Points,Kalam says he decided to visit Gujarat as my mission was not to look at what had happened,not to look at what was happening,but to focus on what should be done. The prime minister,Atal Bihari Vajpayee,asked me only one question,Do you consider going to Gujarat at this time essential? I told the PM,I consider it an important duty so that I can be of some use to remove the pain,and also accelerate the relief activities,and bring about a unity of minds,which is my mission,as I stressed in my address during the swearing-in ceremony, he writes.
