A Dinner Incident Reminding Chanakya
Posted : July 31, 2004 at 9:42 am [IST]
Amar Singh is experienced politician. He was a petty industrialist at one time, but over the period he did a lot liaison work firstly for Congress. But after getting disenchanted with Congress, he managed to join hand with Samajbadi Part boss, Mulayam Singh Yadav. He is the super strong second man in Samajbadi Party today. But more than that Amar Singh has a long list of celebrities of all types and from many areas as his friends. Adi Godrej, Anil Ambani, Amitabha Bachchan, Subroto Roy are his close friends. He is good in becoming a family member with anyone. I don’t know if he is a lady-killer too. But he is one of the most influential and widely sought for politician by all parties from BJP to Communists in time of needs.
In an interview to BBC’s Hard Talk with Karan Thapar Amar Singh revealed the incident of his humiliation at 10 Jan path- the residence of Sonia Gandhi.
According to Singh, he knew he was ”unwanted” the moment he entered the gates of 10, Janpath. Says Singh, who along with RLD chief Ajit Singh, was taken to the party by CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, ”When we arrived, we were made to sit outside in a small chair. It was Ahmed Patel who received us. He went in, and after five minutes came out and said, ‘please come in’. Each one sitting in the room, particularly from the Congress side, except Ghulam Nabi Azad, gave me very, very cold looks. If looks can kill, I was almost killed.”
”I am very ashamed I went there,” he says, adding that Sonia did not even look at him and just gave a ”cold nod”. ”She did not talk to me at all… Surjeet was sitting with me so as to pacify me,” he adds.
But worse was to follow when Singh discovered his party was not included in the list of partners of the new government. Recalls Singh, ”Jairam Ramesh, my dear friend, started reading names of allies and he did not read out our party’s name… At this, I said, ‘What for I am brought here? It seems as if I am unwanted…I am also here to lend support’.”
At this point, says Singh, the CPI’s Bardhan, came to his aid. ”To be fair,” says Singh, ”Bardhan intervened and said SP’s name should be included. Then the discussion (turned to) the format of support being given to Sonia to become PM. I said, ‘Where’s the format.’ I am also prepared to put my signature there.’ There was no response. That is why I was forced to go to the President,” Singh says, explaining why he stayed out of the UPA.
He accuses the Congress of duplicity - he claims the Congress ”appointed” K. Natwar Singh and Ahmed Patel to ”keep him in good humour” before the polls. He is scathing when he says, ”Had there not been the debacle of the BJP by our effort…Sonia Gandhi would not have got the opportunity to…attain sainthood… and Manmohan Singh would not have become the PM. He said Congress leaders’ behaviour towards him that night would “cost them dearly.”…. “We are not dependent on Congress treatment… we are not because of them, we are in spite of them.” “What was done to me, the public humiliation and the bravado expressed by Congress, will cost them dear,”
When I read this story, I am reminded of a great humiliation in Indian history- the humiliation of famous Chanakya, who gave India its first recognized historical figure Chandra Gupta Maurya. Chanakya is also known as Vishnugupta and Kautilya and is also famous for his great treatise on political science known as Artha Shartra. Chanakya was humiliated by the then king, Maha Nanda of Patliputra. He was removed from the feast for the Brahmins though invited by Nanda’s minister. The reason was different. He was odd looking black complexion Brahmin. Chanakya took the vow right there to finish Maha Nanda totally and he did that by establishing the Maurya empire with ChandraGupta. Will Amar Singh be able to do that?
I wish he does some genuine development work for Uttar Pradesh. He is after all chairman of the UP development Council. He has got a friend circle that can come up with effective development programmes covering width and breadth of this backward province. I list some:
Road development: I request Amar Singh to get started the Taj Express Project. A number of model townships, entertainment centres, tourist spots, shopping malls, business centres can come along the Expressway revolutionizing the total economy of the area. He can also assist NHAI to get completed the GQ and East-West corridor passing through UP.
Power: Amar Singhji has already initiated the work on a huge power plant at Dadri through his influence on Reliance. Tata Power also wishes to build one mega power plant in UP. He should provide the similar incentives and get the project going. Amar Singhji can make this backward state power surplus. That can bring in more investment in the states.
Rural Housing: By persuading his friend Sahara’s Roy, Amar Singh can get the revolution in urban housing move to the rural area. That will be his unique contribution if he can do it.
I wish instead of getting satisfied with the publicity in media as celebrity for page number3, he concentrate on some long term goals to leave behind some good impact on general public. He can build an image of his own as well as that of his party too.
- Indra
Category: Indian politics |
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