The Hindu : National : Relaxed Vajpayee, hardpressed Manmohan

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Sunday, Jun 06, 2004

National

National

Relaxed Vajpayee, hardpressed Manmohan

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 5. It could have just been a day a Prime Minister and his immediate predecessor were associated with two different books launches. But Manmohan Singh was, understandably, too pressed for time and Atal Bihari Vajpayee had all the time to put in an appearance at another book release function. Dr. Singh could not make it to the launch of a book, `Integrating The Rural Poor Into Markets,' at the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation. Mr. Vajpayee kept his date at the other venue.

It turned out to be Mr. Vajpayee's first public appearance since his Government was voted out. The occasion was the release of senior journalist Ajit Bhattacharjea's book, `Unfinished Revolution,' a political biography of Jayaprakash Narayan on this day — Sampurna Kranti Diwas (Total Revolution Day), when JP was lathicharged in Patna on June 5, 1975.

The former Prime Minister spoke in a rather robust voice. Freed of the cares of office, he appeared in good health and in good spirits.

In a short speech, he managed to encapsulate a number of themes: his own "eviction" from power; JP's tactical innovation on how to go about pursuing "kranti" (revolution); the irreversibility of the democratic process; the implausibility of the "emergency" regime; economic and social contents to the unfinished revolution; the new "taints" in public life; and, faith in the civil society's reformist capacity.

Mr. Vajpayee's first public appearance also showcased as to how quickly the scene changes with the loss of power. Instead of the swanky BMW, there was the old reliable Ambassador; the SPG personnel did not appear as smartly turned out as they did earlier; and, the venue — the lawn of an MP — was no patch on the quiet grandeur of Panchvati on Race Course Road. Nor was there a profusion of those self-seeking "public servants" who would have thronged a similar occasion at Panchvati. Nobody was in a rush to hustle the evening through. After all, there were no urgent matters of state waiting to be sorted out.

It also turned out to be a gathering of former Prime Ministers — Mr. Vajpayee, Inder Kumar Gujral and Chandra Shekhar.

The evening turned out to be a somewhat poignant gathering of the traditional anti-Congress voices: Atal Bihari Vajpayee (representing the old Jan Sangh), Chandra Shekhar, I.K.Gujral and Surendra Mohan (Janata /Socialist parivar), Nanji Deshmukh (ex-RSS) and Rajni Kothari. They all predictably eulogised JP and his political ideas and methods. All these political leaders and individuals have spent a lifetime battling, politically and intellectually, the Nehru-Gandhi family. And they gathered at a time when the Nehru-Gandhi family had sufficient reason to feel revived.

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