THE PRESIDENT’S MEMOIRS

New Delhi, Feb. 7: The second volume of President Pranab Mukherjee's three-part memoir released on January 28 has several nuanced comments about Rajiv Gandhi in contrast to the open-hearted praise for the former Prime Minister's brother, Sanjay.

That explains his rather formal ties with Rajiv and later Sonia Gandhi and why the Congress chief never entirely trusted Mukherjee to be considered for the post of Union home minister or Prime Minister when the situation arose.

The President also refrains from making any personal observation about Sonia, who was not in active politics in the period covered in The Turbulent Years (1980-1996), brought out by Rupa Publications.

On Rajiv, Mukherjee observes that "it is true that no one is perfect" but says the former Prime Minister "had been criticized for his excessive reliance on some close friends and advisers who installed a so-called ' babalog' government".

"Some of them," the President writes, "turned out to be fortune seekers".

On his being dropped from the cabinet, Mukherjee points out that the age difference between him and Rajiv was only nine years but speaks "of (their) very different backgrounds and temperaments".

"When I was dropped from the Cabinet (in December 1984), I was not even fifty years old. But we were clearly of very different backgrounds and temperaments. Rajiv was a reluctant politician. He was forced by circumstances to become Prime Minister at the age of forty. He was ahead of his times. He wanted rapid change and saw the old guard in the Congress as an obstacle to his vision. He was forward-looking, tech-savvy and welcomed foreign investment in India as well as an enlargement of the market economy. In contrast, I was a conservative, conventional political leader who favoured the public sector, a regulated economy and wanted foreign investment only from NRIs."

On December 31, 1984, a new cabinet was sworn in. Before the swearing-in, newly elected Congress MPs had met in Parliament. According to those present there, Mukherjee, standing next to Rajiv, had a fixed smile on his face. Next to him were three debutant members - Amitabh Bachchan, Vyjayanthimala Bali and Sunil Dutt.

"His (Mukherjee's) performance," one of those present couldn't help commenting, "was so good, he could have got a job in Bollywood."

Mukherjee says he has often been asked whether he bore a grudge against Rajiv. He refers to an interview Rajiv had given to Aroon Purie, editor of India Today, just before his May 1991 assassination.

Rajiv had told Purie that he had later learnt that many things said about them weren't true, Mukherjee says in his book.

Mukherjee feels his proximity to the Congress old guard, such as Kamalapati Tripathi and Vasantdada Patil, had angered Rajiv. "To return to the question of why he dropped me from the Cabinet and expelled me from the party, all I can say is that he made mistakes and so did I. He let others influence him and listened to their calumnies against me. I let my frustration overtake my patience."

Mukherjee says he should have sensed Rajiv's growing unhappiness and the hostility of those around him. "However, I remained engrossed in my work, as is my usual way. Many of my actions, all without malice or ill-intent, were used by my detractors to project me as someone unwilling to accept Rajiv's leadership. Petty things were blown up into huge issues."

Mukherjee cited as example an interview he had given on October 31, 1984 - the day Indira Gandhi was assassinated - in which he had stated that the economic policies of the government would continue. This was when Rajiv had taken over as the new Prime Minister while Mukherjee was the finance minister.

"It was interpreted as questioning the authority of the Prime Minister. While I had given the interview to quell any uncertainty about India in the international markets following the assassination of Mrs Gandhi, it was portrayed as presumptuous and unmindful of Rajiv's authority."

When Rajiv visited Bengal to campaign for the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, Mukherjee says he was unable to accompany him because of important meetings in Delhi. "I was accused of ignoring the Prime Minister and Congress President when he was campaigning in my home state," he writes.

Another incident occurred during a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Board which selected candidates for the 1984 general election. "The nomination of the incumbent Lok Sabha members, Kamal Nath from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh and Professor Nirmla Kumari Shaktawat from Chittorgarh, Rajasthan, was opposed by some people close to Rajiv, including Arun Nehru. I strongly protested and insisted on their nomination. The vehemence of my protest perhaps displeased Rajiv, who repeatedly said, 'Reserve it for the consideration of the President'- meaning himself."

Mukherjee quotes verbatim from veteran editor T.N. Ninan's interview of Rajiv taken in May 1986 to indicate why he was expelled from the Congress.

Ninan: Did Pranab overestimate his real strength and therefore become a fall guy, because he is prominent and he doesn't really have a following? So if you pick on him you get the message across?

Rajiv: We picked the four or five people who we thought were making... trying todestabilise the party... who were going beyond the limits of democratic freedom in the party. And we took action. There is no... sort... of... further motivation than that.

Mukherjee too had given an interview in April 1986 to journalist Pritish Nandy, editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India. The magazine carried a 12-page story titled The Man Who Knew Too Much,which created a furore in political circles. The report implied that Mukherjee knew something which would harm the party.

Mukherjee says when he was expelled from the Congress on April 26, 1986, nobody from the party leadership had bothered to inform him.

About Sanjay, Mukherjee showers lavish praise and quotes extensively from media reports that showed Sanjay in a good light. "No one can fault the intentions guiding Sanjay's decisions - whether these pertained to population control, tackling illiteracy or afforestation. His ideas were good, and all targeted at bringing about positive change. And, as someone who knew him well and worked with him for six years of his political life, I was privy to many of his positive virtues..." Mukherjee says.

After glancing through Mukherjee's book, a senior Congress leader said the President had a habit of saying "there are three things - A and B where the C part never comes up".

"His account of events in memoirs, otherwise candid and nuanced, suffers from a similar weakness," the leader added. "Some parts are missing and the full picture on why he actually fell out is still missing."