05-20-2009, 03:42 PM
<b>Bye, bye Mr Advani</b>
by Uttam Sengupta
It was a hot afternoon in Faizabad (Ayodhya) in 1997-98 and the choice was between driving back to Lucknow and waiting for Lal Krishna Advani to arrive and address an election meeting. My companion, a minor BJP leader, was insistent on returning. Advani, he said to my surprise, was an over-rated public speaker and was unlikely to say anything of any substance. I decided to stay, curious to hear what the BJP leader had to say on the Ram temple he wanted built at Ayodhya and for which he had got the Babri mosque demolished.
But when the helmsman arrived, finally, he appeared completely lost. Indeed, he seemed to think he was addressing a poll meeting in Bihar as he went on rambling about Lalu Yadav and poor governance. The motley crowd listened stoically but his old and well-circulated jokes about Lalu fell flat. I actually felt sorry for him.
But the very next year the NDA bounced back to power and Advani became the Home Minister and later, the Deputy Prime Minister. Two or three years later I was having lunch in the national capital with a former DIB ( Director, Intelligence Bureau) who was believed to have been close to Mr Advani. â How do you rate him as a person and an administrator,â I remember asking him. He seemed to have been caught off-guard by the question and the smile vanished from his lips.
He took his time to reply, fiddling with his fork and , like many Intelligence Bureau officers, rehearsing in his mind what he wanted to say. But his reply was astonishing. He began by saying: âMr Advani is a thorough gentleman, a very well-read person, a warm host and a great friend to haveâ. After a pause and another prodding from me, he thoughtfully added: âHe is a simple person, goes out of his way to helpâ¦â and his voice trailed off.
Impatient, I asked: âI sense there is a âbutâ coming; what is it ?â
âWell,â the former DIB and soon-to-be-made-Governor sighed: âhe is a poor judge of men and, unfortunately, he has no clue about administrationâ.
I was stunned. â Are you suggesting that the Home Minister of the country is a poor administrator ,â I blurted out but the gentleman, who I had known for 20 years, merely shrugged.
His words came rushing back to mind when, several years later and after Mr Advaniâs autobiography came out, another bureaucrat who had worked with him in the ministry, claimed that throughout his tenure he had not come across a single file on which the HM ( Home Minister) had noted his opinion. <b>â Every file we sent to him, even those where possible options were specified, returned with his signature and nothing else,â he claimed.</b>
There must be more to Mr Advani than what these stray comments suggest. He certainly inspires both loyalty and affection among people close to him.
But to me he always appeared somewhat unreal, an epic character riding a rath, waving a sword and tilting at windmills. The wrong man for the wrong party and profession , perhaps ? And somehow I feel very relieved that he is not going to be the Prime Minister, after all.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090519/edit.htm#6
by Uttam Sengupta
It was a hot afternoon in Faizabad (Ayodhya) in 1997-98 and the choice was between driving back to Lucknow and waiting for Lal Krishna Advani to arrive and address an election meeting. My companion, a minor BJP leader, was insistent on returning. Advani, he said to my surprise, was an over-rated public speaker and was unlikely to say anything of any substance. I decided to stay, curious to hear what the BJP leader had to say on the Ram temple he wanted built at Ayodhya and for which he had got the Babri mosque demolished.
But when the helmsman arrived, finally, he appeared completely lost. Indeed, he seemed to think he was addressing a poll meeting in Bihar as he went on rambling about Lalu Yadav and poor governance. The motley crowd listened stoically but his old and well-circulated jokes about Lalu fell flat. I actually felt sorry for him.
But the very next year the NDA bounced back to power and Advani became the Home Minister and later, the Deputy Prime Minister. Two or three years later I was having lunch in the national capital with a former DIB ( Director, Intelligence Bureau) who was believed to have been close to Mr Advani. â How do you rate him as a person and an administrator,â I remember asking him. He seemed to have been caught off-guard by the question and the smile vanished from his lips.
He took his time to reply, fiddling with his fork and , like many Intelligence Bureau officers, rehearsing in his mind what he wanted to say. But his reply was astonishing. He began by saying: âMr Advani is a thorough gentleman, a very well-read person, a warm host and a great friend to haveâ. After a pause and another prodding from me, he thoughtfully added: âHe is a simple person, goes out of his way to helpâ¦â and his voice trailed off.
Impatient, I asked: âI sense there is a âbutâ coming; what is it ?â
âWell,â the former DIB and soon-to-be-made-Governor sighed: âhe is a poor judge of men and, unfortunately, he has no clue about administrationâ.
I was stunned. â Are you suggesting that the Home Minister of the country is a poor administrator ,â I blurted out but the gentleman, who I had known for 20 years, merely shrugged.
His words came rushing back to mind when, several years later and after Mr Advaniâs autobiography came out, another bureaucrat who had worked with him in the ministry, claimed that throughout his tenure he had not come across a single file on which the HM ( Home Minister) had noted his opinion. <b>â Every file we sent to him, even those where possible options were specified, returned with his signature and nothing else,â he claimed.</b>
There must be more to Mr Advani than what these stray comments suggest. He certainly inspires both loyalty and affection among people close to him.
But to me he always appeared somewhat unreal, an epic character riding a rath, waving a sword and tilting at windmills. The wrong man for the wrong party and profession , perhaps ? And somehow I feel very relieved that he is not going to be the Prime Minister, after all.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090519/edit.htm#6