Compliments, Concessions And Contradictions: HD Deve Gowda Remembers AB Vajpayee

(From the chapter, 바카라�Wrestling with Vajpayee and his Mask바카라�. Pages 430-433.)

 When Gowda as prime minister had lost the support of the Congress party in April 1997, and his own party men and coalition partners were dithering, Vajpayee offered to save his government.

Even when the confidence debate was on in the Parliament, he sent a chit to Gowda and reiterated what he had told him in confidence earlier. There were also others like Balasaheb Thackeray, Sahib Singh Verma, George Fernandes and Ram Jethmalani, who urged him not to resign but instead accept BJP바카라�s support and continue as prime minister. However, it was Vajpayee who personally tried to work on Gowda.

 바카라�It may have been a strategic move on the part of Vajpayee to save my government, but I also could feel his sincerity,바카라� Gowda recalled. Gowda never forgot this gesture of Vajpayee. Their interpersonal relationship remained cordial at all times, but that did not stop him from countering and cornering Vajpayee on issues of public, communal and constitutional importance.

He had made a tangential mention in the Parliament of this Vajpayee offer twice, but ironically while discussing Vajpayee government바카라�s failure to maintain communal peace.

In April 2002, when the Godhra riots in Gujarat were being discussed, he had said: 바카라�On 9 April 1997, some of the NDA friends바카라�I do not want to take their names and hurt their feelings바카라�approached me. They tried to persuade me by saying: 바카라�Why are you losing this opportunity? The prime minister바카라�s office is a big office and it is the first time that a farmer has got this opportunity. Why do you want to quit?바카라� I said: 바카라�I do not want to be at the mercy of your friends . . .바카라� I have never bothered about continuing in office with this type of humiliation.바카라�

He had mentioned the Vajpayee offer earlier too in December 1998 and had concluded by advising Vajpayee: 바카라�Some people think that the chair is so important in life. My appeal to them is this: Conduct yourself in a dignified manner.바카라� In fact, the April 2002 reference was even harsher, when for a second time during the debate, he had told Vajpayee: 바카라�You can take out those proceedings and go through it. I (had) said: 바카라�I do not care whether I will remain for five days or five months. I want to serve my country to the best of my ability.바카라� This was the stand which I took. However, what is going on today? For the sake of continuing in office, you had to compromise with your ideology, your personal ideology, whereas you have been classified as one of the tallest leaders with a moderate, liberal outlook, a man of abundant patience, tolerance, etc.바카라�

Gowda, it appears, keeps a mental list of people who had helped him in difficulty and had been kind to him in crisis. One wonders if he is also in the habit of weighing and counterbalancing every single one of his moves and impending actions by constantly vetting it against this list. There is perhaps another list of those who slighted, insulted and cheated him.

Whatever, Vajpayee had certainly gotten on the list of the generous. He genuinely acknowledged Vajpayee바카라�s seniority, liberal streak, the stature he commanded among his peers as well as the masses, and his vast parliamentary experience.

The opening encounter between the two, when Gowda sought the confidence vote in June 1996, had unraveled his approach to Vajpayee. There were compliments and concessions, but contradictions were exposed at the same time, and there were vague chastisements too. Initiating the motion of confidence, Gowda had said whether Vajpayee was prime minister for ten days or fifteen days, he had his 바카라�own respect and regard바카라� for the experience and the maturity the latter had in his parliamentary life.

Then, after Vajpayee had spoken, Gowda parcelled a taunt while responding to the debate on the motion of confidence: 바카라�I am not an eloquent speaker in Hindi, or an eloquent speaker in English, a forceful speech in English or Hindi is not going to solve the problems of the poor man in India. I have seen enough.바카라�

 In the same reply to the confidence debate, he appealed to the liberal side of Vajpayee as well: 바카라�You have advised me on so many issues. I take your advice and guidance for my future administration. You have got some secular face. That is why they named you the future prime minister of this country. You were able to get twenty or thirty seats more because of that, otherwise things would have been totally different . . . Today you must come forward; with your liberal outlook you must come forward,바카라� he had said. And since Vajpayee and his colleagues had held forth on corruption and opportunism in their speeches, it was time to expose the doubletalk with two examples바카라�one from nearly sixteen years ago, and another from the glaring present:

 바카라�When the government of Shri Morarji Bhai stepped down바카라� I am not criticizing the role of Shri George Fernandes at that time바카라�Shri Vajpayee, our senior leader at that time was in the government . . . Shri Chandra Shekhar was the president of the party (Janata Party). I was also one of the working committee members in the state unit. Shri Vajpayee and Shri Morarji Desai had both contacted me and asked for the support of Shri Devaraj Urs to that government. Shri Devaraj Urs was branded as a corrupt politician and Shri Devaraj Urs was indicted by a commission of inquiry which was appointed by the government of India. Sir, with all sincerity at my command, I am making this. I am not going to make any allegation. Is it not a fact? Is it not a fact바카라�that is all I am going to ask. For political convenience in this country, all political parties have played their own role for a temporary gain, including Deve Gowda. Yes. Let us search our hearts instead of arguing one against the other. At least let us start a new chapter.바카라�