Shiban Khaibri
Many leaders of our national movement sacrificed a lot, even their personal life for the interests of the country and the countrymen. They did not even mention about it, let alone bragging about to score points. “Tyag” literally means sacrificing, renouncing, forsaking, relinquishing, foregoing and the like. For attaining it, one has to tread a difficult path of truth, determination, detachment and undergoing servitude of people without any hope of getting a reward, not even any praise. It is something like an attitude from within, with no eye on any fruits or rewards. Congress President Sonia Gandhi in 2004 did not “accept” the post of the Prime Minister ostensibly as “my aim is not to become the Prime Minister” as she did believe in listening to the voice of the inner soul or as she aptly put it as “Antaratma ki aawaz”. This declaration was made by her amidst thundering slogans raised in her praise by many “dedicated Congress leaders” in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting on May18, 2004 to this extent that despite her advice to loyalist Congresspersons to calm down, there was no lessening of the loyalty tempo forcing her to say, “O.K , then I am leaving…” but she revealed that she had decided against assuming the coveted highest post of power in the country much to the shock of many Congress persons, many of whom could be seen in tears even sobbing.
A Congress cabinet Minister holding the most important portfolio of External Affairs of the country, a man of vast exposure of 30 years’ political and diplomatic sojourns, decorated with Padma Bushan award, and “an insider” in the Congress Party, Natwar Singh, in his book, slated to be released shortly within a few days and going to be causing considerable embarrassment to the Congress leadership, is reported to have made certain revelations which has demolished the “theory of Tyag” vis – a vis Sonia Gandhi. Natwar Singh in an interview to a TV news channel has revealed that the factor responsible for Sonia Ji not becoming the PM was her son Rahul and not any “listening to the inner voice”. He maintains that Rahul had “strongly prevailed upon” her not to accept the post fearing she would be killed like his father Rajiv Gandhi. To ensure it , Rahul had given a deadline of 24 hours to his mother to turn down the post, as per Natwar Singh who was believed to be one of the top ones nearest to the Gandhi family. He further maintains that persons witness to the crucial meeting then (deciding about the post of the PM) comprise Dr. Manmohan Singh, Suman Dubey and Priyanka Gandhi. He has “given full marks to Rahul Gandhi” albeit – “Mamma tuje pranam”).
The question here is that of propriety based on sincerity and probity as against that of misleading the people. An analogy even with “the grapes are sour” cannot be drawn here as grapes whether sweet or sour had to be forsaken though the urge and the hunger both were the driving factors but again an irreversible worldly attachment that of the “Putra moh” or the emotional attachment with the son, which normally ordinary human beings cannot resist, resulted in not getting the thing most sought after. That is the domain of those for whom, to know and feel Him, is paramount and supreme. That is for them who are on a mission of “sanyas” and “tyag”, the two inexplicable faces of complete worldly detachments and that for attaining one, the other has to be adopted and vice versa. The unsolicited exit and the oblivion from the Congress Party and the position Natwar was holding was again due to the same son factor or the “Putra Moh” since the oil coupons which he allegedly obtained from the “Oil for Food” programme in Iraq in 2005 were reportedly for his son Jagat Singh. The hue and cry of allegations was against the Congress Party but Natwar Singh felt that he was singled out and shown the door. This perhaps was taken by him to be unjustified and he kept nursing the grudge of being single handedly pointed out and asked to leave and that Smt. Sonia never gave him a chance to clarify and present his side of the story. He is reported to have acknowledged that the Congress President later belatedly had even “apologized” for this and asked him to edit her autobiography but “I did not edit even a chapter”. The fact that such a “nearer person ” to the most powerful family for as long as 45 years was in possession of many important but expectedly truer stories, Natwar Singh has claimed that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had visited him in May this year and had “urged me to keep this story out of the book titled “One Life is Not Enough”, an autobiography penned by him and going to hit the stalls shortly. He even claims that Smt. Sonia Gandhi too had personally met him and persuaded not to mention any thing in the book that could dent her image.
How many stories are known to how many people and how many emissaries were going to persuade them from spacing off those from their books or write ups or TV interviews, only time shall unfold? Here it would be important to make a reference also to Sanjay Baru’s book “The accidental Prime Minister” which reveals and confirms the existence of dual power centres in Delhi with Sonia Gandhi wielding the authority of the supreme person. He has alleged that important and key government files used to land at her table for decision taking process. These files as revealed were reportedly taken there by a senior official in the PMO’s office. The charge, if proved, could land persons of whatsoever fame and position in trouble as being violating the provisions of the Official Secrets Act. Sanjay Baru was the media advisor to Manmohan Singh and he quotes him as having said on many occasions that he did not have the last word and that the buck stopped with Sonia Gandhi. That easily leads every one to believe that holding power without responsibility or accountability was what Sonia Gandhi has believed in as Baru feels that none in the Manmohan Singh cabinet felt that he or she owed his or her position, rank or portfolio to the Prime Minister who himself never tried to shake his position of being so subservient. Dr. Singh never shied away from this reality overtly and covertly is only a rue-able reflection of UPA regimes of 10 years.
These accounts prove one basic issue that of wielding power, absolute power by proxy on behalf of some one, constitutionally tagged for the job and yet claim that the post was spurned due to “listening to the inner voice” lands us at an unambiguous space of seeing the double speak of the Congress Party, the irresistible dislike for any dissent or democratic functioning, even advice from whichever circles including from within if someone dared. The reaction by Sonia Gandhi to Natwar Singh’s revelations, in his own words, has been that of “touching a raw nerve and something has upset her so much that she came out”. He claims that as many as 50 Congress persons “called me to congratulate me for telling the truth in the book”. The books however, shall be replied by books as Sonia Gandhi also intends to “seriously write” a book ….as the only way for the truth to come out” as she was not hurt by this because of having seen worse things. By the time she writes a book and it attempts to unfold the truth, how many more books shall come out revealing the inventory of the skeletons from the cupboard of the Party and the UPA, is known either to the writers or to the Congress Party leadership.
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