Told Narasimha Rao not to depend on BJP’s assurances on Babri, he didn’t heed advice: Pawar

Pawar was speaking at a panel discussion in Delhi after launching The Indian Express Contributing Editor Neerja Chowdhury’s new book How Prime Ministers Decide (published by Aleph Book Company). The book details how six PMs took some of the key decisions that shaped contemporary India. Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Prithviraj Chavan and the BJP’s Dinesh Trivedi were also part of the panel discussion moderated by senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan was the chief guest.

“Vijaya Raje’s suggestion was accepted by Narasimha Rao. Personally, then Home Minister Shankarrao Chavan, then Home Secretary Madhav Godbole, and I — all three of us — suggested that don’t depend on the BJP leadership, anything can happen. But ultimately PM preferred to listen to these (BJP) leaders and we know what ultimately happened,” Pawar said.

Asked who he thought was the most effective PM, Pawar named Rao. “The way he took decisions irrespective of opposition from certain sections ultimately protected the interests of the country.”

Chowdhury, when asked if Rao colluded with the BJP to bring down the Babri Masjid, said there was “no evidence” but added that Rao felt that its demolition would remove a “festering sore”. “Was he complicit? He allowed the masjid to come down, he had a fair idea, he had been warned this might take place. And he felt this might remove a festering sore from the body politic of India and take the wind out of the sails of the BJP,” she said.

On Manmohan Singh’s tenure as PM, Chavan said corruption scandals led to the fall of the UPA-II government. “In the second term, there were so many corruption scandals — 2G, coal, Commonwealth Games … he was not able to stop them. Many of them had nothing in them, it later turned out there was no corruption at all. But the perception was created that it was an extremely corrupt government … and the Anna Hazare movement added to it,” said the Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister.

Trivedi who, as a member of UPA ally Trinamool Congress, was the Railways Minister in the second term for some time and presented a Railway Budget said Singh lost interest towards the end of his tenure. “I think Manmohan Singh by then had lost interest. I think he realised that he was not in control. He felt that he was totally out of control when somebody goes and tears up an ordinance and there is nothing he can do,” he said, referring to Rahul Gandhi’s public outburst against an ordinance.

Trivedi said Singh had “tears in his eyes” when he resigned following his Railway Budget since TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee opposed it. “When I went to him with my resignation, he was in tears. He said there is nothing he can do, he doesn’t want me to go. I said you are the captain, if you say I am not accepting your resignation, I will stay. He said, ‘But the government will fall,’” Trivedi said.

On Singh, Tharoor said the impression that he was a weak PM was not entirely fair. “He was weak on coalition matters because he had no choice. A coalition is something which Mr Modi has not had to contend with. If the situation changes after 2024, you might say differently about Mr Modi,” said the Congress MP.

“During the negotiations on the Indo-US nuclear deal, there was a vote to condemn Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Left wanted India to vote with Iran. The PM, I’m sure there was pressure from Washington, wanted to vote against Iran. Mrs (Sonia) Gandhi and her advisers wanted India to abstain. But, at the end of the day, it was the PM’s views that prevailed,” Tharoor said, adding, “Mrs Gandhi knew where the Laxman Rekha was. Her job was running the party and politics, his job was running the government. So if he thought this was the right thing to do, she would give her view but he would decide. And I think this is not sufficiently appreciated.”

The book does not delve into Narendra Modi’s tenure. Chowdhury, when asked about it, said she thought of writing on demonetisation but ultimately decided against it. “I realised I would not get the real info about how decisions were made…,” she said.

About Modi, Trivedi, now a Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP, said the PM was “totally committed to the country”. “I have not had the privilege so far of working with the present PM, I don’t know the future. So, as a friend, I know him. He is very strong and he is totally committed to the country, works 24×7. We may agree, we may disagree, but the fact is he is only thinking about the country, like all the prime ministers. But if you ask me, my favourite is Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The man was a poet, he loved food, and there was nothing hidden behind the curtain. He was what he was. You got what you saw.”