New Delhi, July 22: BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy was today described as one of the "most courageous" living Indians after he launched a book by a former L.K. Advani aide against advice from the BJP veteran's secretary.
Swamy's move bailed Vishwambhar Shrivastava, a Sangh volunteer who was Advani's additional personal secretary for over three decades, out of a jam after the scheduled host backed out.
Lending his endorsement to the event was Sangh veteran Ram Bahadur Rai, who later patted Swamy for his courage.
Shrivastava said he had wanted to have Advani Ke Saath 32 Saal (32 Years With Advani) published as far back as 2008 but was deterred by Advani despite deleting several passages at the patriarch's behest. The expunged bits were mainly about Advani's relations with Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi.
A statement from Advani's secretary Deepak Chopra, issued late last night and routed through the BJP's media cell, said: "This book does not have the consent of Shri L.K. Advani and has been published against his wishes."
Chopra, one of the most powerful apparatchiks when Advani was Deputy Prime Minister, later explained the point to The Telegraph.
"Shrivastava showed him the first manuscript and Advani simply told him, 'Don't do this. You are free to write your memoirs for yourself and your family but please don't go public with it'," Chopra said, almost implying the book amounted to a betrayal.
"Advani's a different sort of person, he does not want to be written about."
Earlier, R.K. Sinha, a BJP Rajya Sabha member from Bihar who is close to Advani's rival-turned-friend Murli Manohar Joshi, had backed off last evening after initially agreeing to host the launch at his official quarters.
The release was then relocated to the Constitution Club. Sinha didn't show up although the media invite named him as the presiding host. "I was down with fever, cold and a bad cough," he later said.
Former BJP general secretary K.N. Govindacharya, a former Advani protégé who fell out with his mentor, filled in for Sinha.
BJP insiders who have read advance copies of the book said it portrays Advani "positively" and glosses over his alleged differences with Vajpayee.
For example, the book recalls that when Advani won the Gandhinagar and New Delhi seats in 1989 and had to relinquish one, he rejected party colleague Harin Pathak's suggestion to keep New Delhi and let son Jayant contest the by-election from Gandhinagar.
Advani, the book says, said he didn't want to inject "dynastic politics" into the BJP.
However, the book also cites a letter to Advani by Shrivastava's son Ashok, now with Doordarshan, that does not give a flattering picture of the leader.
Written in 2004, the letter demanded an explanation why Shrivastava had just been eased out of Advani's secretariat. Ashok cited his father's "dedication", mentioning how he "ran" to Advani's home every time his wife Kamla summoned him to teach their children, instead of minding the studies of his own school-going kids.
Soon after, Advani re-employed Shrivastava, who left a year later to write the book.
Shrivastava told the launch he began working on the book in 2005 and wanted to publish it in 2008 but was restrained by Advani, who said he had been declared the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2009 polls.
"I showed him eight or nine drafts. He wanted certain portions expunged but when I said he should do it himself, he said, 'No, you make the changes.' I removed whatever he wanted. I took the final copy to Advaniji with the publisher.... I believed Advaniji was a votary of free speech."
Rai accused Chopra of trying to scuttle the launch but Swamy was unusually restrained. He fondly remembered Advani for inducting him into the BJP's national executive.
"He's a storehouse of knowledge," Swamy said. "After the Ayodhya movement, there was no doubt he would be the PM but he gave the position to Vajpayee."
