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In 2002, RSS suggested that Vajpayee become President, says Advani

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) suggested in 2002 that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee become the President, which job would be “less taxing” in view of his knee trouble, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani says in his memoirs ‘My Country, My Life.’

Aap hi kyon nahin Rashtrapati bante? (Why don’t you become the President?), the then RSS chief Rajju Bhaiyya was quoted as having asked Mr. Vajpayee during a meeting at the latter’s residence.

Mr. Advani made a mention of this “significant development.” “One day I received a call from Prof. Rajju Bhaiyya, who was then Sarsanghchalak of the RSS, saying that he wanted to discuss something important with me.

“I invited him over the following morning and, over breakfast, he narrated to me the details of a meeting he had with Atalji the previous evening,” recalls Mr. Advani.

The reason for the suggestion, the RSS chief explained, was “principally that, in view of his knee trouble, it would be less taxing for him to shoulder the responsibility of Rashtrapati Bhavan”.

Besides, the people would consider him the ideal choice in view of his stature and experience, Prof. Rajju Bhaiyya added.

Mr. Advani said he asked the RSS chief about Mr. Vajpayee’s response. “He said neither yes nor no. I therefore thought that he has not rejected my suggestion,” Prof. Rajju Bhaiyya said.

The BJP leader said he mentioned to Prof. Rajju Bhaiyya that the National Democratic Alliance leaders had unanimously resolved to authorise the Prime Minister to finalise a suitable, nationally acceptable candidate for President. “In the end, everybody unanimously accepted Atalji’s decision in the matter,” recounts Mr. Advani.

The choice “surprisingly” zeroed in on P.C. Alexander, then Maharashtra Governor, who was closely associated with the former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi of the Congress.

Mr. Advani said it was he who first proposed Dr. Alexander’s name to Mr. Vajpayee and other key NDA leaders. Mr. Vajpayee readily agreed to his suggestion.

However, the Congress opposed Dr. Alexander’s candidature and there was unanimity on A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who succeeded K.R. Narayanan.

Mr. Advani says he has no regrets over having made references to the secular nature of Mohammad Ali Jinnah which he quoted from the late Sarojini Naidu’s speech three years ago.

Writing under the chapter “I have no regrets,” he recalls the political storm that was generated by his remarks in Karachi during his visit to Pakistan in 2005. “I could well understand if some ordinary people had felt surprised and even upset at seeing headlines in TV news bulletins or newspapers that said: “Advani calls Jinnah secular.”

“But what pained me is that some people thought I had committed a serious ideological heresy even before acquainting themselves with full facts and background information,” he writes.

Mr. Advani recaptures the turmoil which forced him to resign as BJP president. “It would not be an exaggeration to say that I was upset.”

His resignation was, however, not accepted by the party’s Parliamentary Board. He withdrew his resignation, but the turbulence did not end there.

“One day, in the middle of 2005, I was told that I should step down from presidentship of the BJP by the year-end after the conclusion of the party’s ongoing silver jubilee celebrations,” he says.

Mr. Advani remembers that period as “profoundly agonising” which even forced him to think of ending active political life.

“I was in a dilemma. What should I do? How should I respond to this situation? Never in my political life was I enamoured of any post or the power that supposedly came with it,” he notes.

“My predicament often made me wonder if it wasn’t time for me to embrace the peace and comfort of a quiet family life, which had eluded me for so long. My state of mind was not quite unlike that of the unsure Arjuna on the battlefield.”

Mr. Advani subsequently passed on the baton to Rajnath Singh. — PTI

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