Battle for Chandrashekhar's legacy

JYOTI MALHOTRA

New Delhi, July 10, 2007 : The battle for the socialist legacy of former prime minister Chandra Shekhar is already under way, with his nephew Praveen Singh questioning the facts of a press release issued in the name of the ailing leader last month, which ``whole-heartedly and without any reservation’’ endorsed Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as presidential candidate.

Days before Chandra Shekhar passed away, his Samajwadi Janata Party was thrown into turmoil when Praveen Singh, party national secretary and a nephew of the former PM, wrote a letter to party general secretary Ayub Khan, saying he was distressed to learn that the former prime minister had issued such an appeal on June 15 in favour of Shekhawat.

In his letter, written in Hindi, Praveen Singh says that Chandra Shekhar’s condition had already become serious by June 10 and had deteriorated so badly by June 4 that he was in no condition to talk to anyone.

``Kisi appeal ko likhvaane ya us par hastakshar karne ki baat to door ki hai,’’ (The question of having an appeal written or putting a signature on it was a far cry), says Singh in the letter.

``..For the presidential election, if some people are misusing Chandra Shekhar’s name to support their own people then this is very unfortunate,’’ Singh goes on to add.

According to a June 15 press release issued on Chandra Shekhar’s letterhead, the former PM extols the virtues of Shekhawat : ``I wholeheartedly and without any reservation endorse/propose the election of Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat as our next President…He combines a life time’s experience of dedicated public service with rare qualities of head and heart.’’

When contacted, however, Praveen Singh would not say who he was referring to, simply repeated himself. ``I have no idea how Chandra Shekharji could sign on a piece of paper when he was already in a semi-coma by June 15,’’ he said.

Clearly, the death of the former PM has already unleashed a struggle within the SJP. There is Praveen Singh, who contested from Ballia in the recent UP elections and lost, and it is now said that Chandra Shekhar’s eldest son, Pankaj, could also stake claim for his father’s Ballia seat. Meanwhile, party old-timers like Kamal Morarka and Ravindra Manchanda also stress the closeness of their tie to Chandra Shekhar.

Manchanda told The Telegraph that Chandra Shekhar had himself signed the press release, that in fact he, Morarka and Shekhawat were all present when Chandra Shekhar had done so.
He said he had got Chandra Shekhar to sign the letter sometime in May, ``before he went into ICU and when he was fully conscious,’’ but that he had it issued only on June 15. In fact, Manchanda said, Chandra Shekhar encouraged Shekhawat to announce his candidature.

``What Praveen Singh is saying is baseless,’’ said Manchanda.

Morarka, on the other hand, said the party had received ``no communication’’ from Praveen Singh. An agitated Morarka said that in his capacity as the chief general secretary of the party, he stood by the contents of the press release that Chandra Shekhar had signed.

But Ayub Khan, the party general secretary to whom Praveen Singh has issued the letter, admitted that there was ``scope for confusion’’ on the matter.

``Everyone knows,’’ said Khan, ``that around the time the press release was issued, Chandra Shekharji was not in a condition to speak or write. However, everyone also knows that he and Bhairon Singhji had very good relations between them. So there is some confusion on this score,’’ he added.

``It could have been a computer signature,’’ said Khan, adding, ``I cannot say anything about the authenticity of the letter. It was not issued from the office.’’

Khan pointed out that Chandra Shekhar had all kinds of very close political friends like Shekhawat and Atal Behari Vajpayee (``he called him Guruji’’). ``But everyone who knew Chandra Shekhar also knew that he always kept personal relations on one side and principles on the other,’’ Khan said.

Just like the time when Jaiprakash Narayan died, Khan said, there was talk about who would inherit his mantle, whether Jagjivan Ram or Chandra Shekhar. He pleaded that this matter now be laid to rest.

ENDS