Caught in his own web

The Congress(I) believes that the matter is now between Mr. Narasimha Rao and the courts and that it can do little to help. JAVED M. ANSARI on the fallout of the JMM MPs bribery case verdict.

MR. P. V. NARASIMHA RAO, is rated highly by his contemporaries in national politics, among other things for his ability to absorb shocks. ``He has the strongest shock absorbers'' is how one former Prime Minister described Mr. Rao's ability to remain unfazed at the worst of times. But there was little of the customary self- control on display on the warm September afternoon last Friday.

As the Special Judge, Mr. Ajit Bharihoke, pronounced the former Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleague, Mr. Buta Singh, guilty in the JMM MPs bribery case, Mr. Rao's customary fortitude deserted him. Stunned by the verdict, he struggled to remain on his feet, and had to be helped to a chair. Later he slowly made his way to his car for the ride back to his Moti Lal Nehru Marg residence.

In the dock alongwith him had been party colleagues, and associates-turned-strangers such as Mr. Bhajan Lal, Capt. Satish Sharma, and Mr. Veerappa Moily, and a host of others. Lucky to be let off, they turned their backs on him and made a quick exit leaving the man they had once sworn by to fend for himself. Mr. Narasimha Rao was a lonely man that day. And, has remained that way since.

Barring a handful of old friends such as the former Prime Minister, Mr. Chandra Shekhar, and Mr. Devendranath Dwivedi and aides such as Mr. Bhuvanesh Chaturvedi and Mr. Maninderjit Singh Bitta, he has had few visitors. The Congress(I), taken aback by the verdict, has kept its distance, though the party chief, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, did pay him a short courtesy call. The hundreds of Congressmen who had sung his tune and beaten his drum during his stewardship of the party and his stint as Prime Minister were nowhere in sight.

Officially, the Congress(I) has refused to go beyond stating that it will respond only after it studies the judgment. It is unlikely that Mr. Rao's conviction will impact on the party in a major way. As it is, Mr. Rao has few friends in the party and even they are struggling for their own survival and are hardly in a position to help him.

In fact, the hardest hit by his conviction are the dissidents in the party who were banking on him to lend his voice to their cause, once he got through the JMM case, incidentally the last major one pending against him.

The Congress(I) does not want to give the impression that it is deserting one of its former chiefs in a hurry. ``We cannot overlook the fact that he was our Prime Minister and party chief for five long years,'' says a CWC(I) member. But, in private, that is precisely what most Congressmen are doing. Mr. Rao has been left to fend for himself and no tears are being shed for him in the party. A majority of his partymen believe that he had set up his rivals in the Jain hawala case and are, therefore, disinclined to help him. Even otherwise, he has little to offer to the party. Never a vote-catcher at the best of times, he has been leading the life of a recluse running from one courtroom to another.

The party believes that the matter is now between Mr. Rao and the courts and there is little that it can do to help. ``It is basically his battle. He has to fight it in the courts,'' says a senior legal luminary of the party.

The leadership, however, is a bit concerned about the public fallout, especially the way it will impact on its image in the coming Assembly elections. ``We cannot wish away the fact that he was the Congress(I) president and is the first such politician to be convicted under the Prevention of Corruption Act,'' says a CWC(I) member. The party has sought legal opinion and is being guided by the leading Supreme Court lawyer, Mr. Kapil Sibal, who believes that the ``verdict is judicially unsound and will be upturned by a higher court''.

While that may or may not happen. It is clear that Mr. Rao's conviction has put an end to any hopes he may have of making a comeback. ``He can never resurrect himself politically,'' says a former member of his Cabinet. A sad end for someone once hailed as the Chanakya of Indian politics.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Opinion
Previous : With friends like these...
Next     : Dealing with the big boys