Rajiv Gandhi had wanted Jyoti Basu to become the Prime Minister and had pleaded with him twice during the politically tumultuous times of 1990 and 1991, former CBI director and West Bengal DGP Arun Prosad Mukherjee has revealed in his autobiography.
The recently-released book — "Unknown Facets of Rajiv Gandhi, Jyoti Basu, Indrajit Gupta" — is based on Mukherjee's diary entries, maintained from the time he joined IPS in 1956, and his interactions with Rajiv, Basu and Gupta in various capacities as Darjeeling SP, Bengal DGP, state vigilance commissioner, CBI boss, special secretary in the home ministry, and finally, advisor to the home minister (Indrajit Gupta).
Mukherjee was special
secretary, home ministry, in October 1990 when Rajiv informally asked him to
arrange a meeting with Basu, says the book. The communist leader said it was
not his call and only the party's central committee and Politburo could take
such a decision. CPM vetoed it and Chandrashekhar — Rajiv's third choice —
became PM with Congress support.
In 1991, when Chandrashekhar
turned out to be a failure, Rajiv again approached Basu but he declined and
referred the matter to his party leadership. Mukherjee writes that he took
Rajiv's emissary for a meeting with senior CPM leaders at former MP Biplab
Dasgupta's house. "But my worst conjecture proved right ... and thus ended
the second opportunity of putting up the Left Front's best foot forward in the
larger interest of Bengal."
Five years later, thanks to
a hung Parliament, several local satraps, including Mulayam Singh Yadav,
proposed Basu's name again for Prime Minister. And again the CPM central
committee voted against it. In an interview at the end of 1996, Basu termed it
a "historic blunder". "However, it is not generally known that
such blunders had taken place twice in 1990-91... largely because of the
unrealistic, short-sighted and 'blunder-proof' mindset of CPM leaders,"
writes the former DGP.
The CPM leadership has been
taken aback by Mukherjee's revelation. Rajya Sabha MP Shyamal Chakraborty, who
wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year for a commemorative
postage stamp on Basu's centenary, told TOI on Monday: "I had no idea
about this, so I can't comment on something I don't know of."
# 1996: After the fall of
13-day-old Vajpayee govt, United Front asks Basu to be PM. Yet again, CPM says
no.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker and
expelled CPM leader Somnath Chatterjee didn't know of it either. "It (not
allowing Basu to become PM) was the weirdest example of democratic centralism.
I respectfully agree with Jyoti-babu's 'historic blunder' comment. I wish the
blunder hadn't been committed and history would have been written differently.
Look what's happened to the party now — it's become politically
irrelevant."
Chatterjee agreed with
Mukherjee's remark in his book that the country's "murky political and
administrative ethos" then would have been transformed with Basu at the
helm.
Speaking to TOI, the
82-year-old Mukherjee said: "All three (Gandhi, Basu and Gupta) were
different personalities. Jyoti Basu was firm, Rajiv was extremely courteous
while Indrajit Gupta was a straight-talker. But they trusted me and allowed me
to speak my mind. They knew about my integrity."
About the
"blunder" he said, "The CPM leadership refused to see reason and
there was no way one could convince them." His writing is more explicit:
"All the implications and finer points made out by me in favour of Jyoti
Basu accepting Rajiv Gandhi's offer of prime ministership though presumably for
a short period of 8-12 months went over the heads of Left Front leaders —
thanks to their blinkered vision."
What happened....?
# 1990: Basu tops Rajiv list
of 3 prospective PMs but CPM says no. Chandrashekar, the last name on Rajiv's
list, after Devi Lal, becomes PM.
# 1991: Chandrashekar flops.
Rajiv again requests Basu. Mukherjee says he will arrange a meet if Rajiv ensures
Basu is PM for at least a year. Rajiv agrees. Basu says party must decide. CPM
again says no.
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