My experience and lessons with #Vajpayee.
I was private secretary to Union Cabinet Minister Barnala in 1999 and because of Jayalalithaa's withdrawal of support to NDA govt, there was turmoil. Subramaniam Swamy & Sonia wanted NDA to fall and had solicited Jaya's help. Even their tea meeting in Delhi was hailed as a storm in a tea cup.
A think tank calculated that if the govt had the support of three ADMK MPs in Lok Sabha, Vajpayee govt may survive. My Minister asked me to talk to my erstwhile colleague and friend who was Sasikala's husband , M Natarajan. I didn't have a mobile then and had MN's land line number. But MN was not picking my calls. I contacted one Prabhakara in South Ex2 who was introduced to me by MN. He even had a Toyota car with Tamilnadu regd which he claimed was presented by MN. Prabhakara arrived at the residence of Minister Barnala on Tughlak road. He sought the details of the deal. We promised to revert in short time.
Minister called and invited Minister Pramod Mahajan for a meeting and we met. Mahajan promised a cabinet Minister post for MN if gov survived the no confidence vote. I conveyed the message to Prabhakara and who in my presence called MN on his mobile and requested him to do the needful and detailed him the benefits. MN said he will revert the next day. He never did and Prabhakara's calls did reach a dead end. Few years later MN confessed to me that as a loyalist he could never betray Jaya thou she had imagined otherwise. In fact we needed only two MPs and we had enticed one on our own.
We escalated the issue to PM. He called us all immediately to his residence. Speaking softly he told us that we should never be cunning to preserve and protect anything including government. That alone will set apart his govt as unique under all conditions. He advised us to drop the idea.
Next day, the Vajpayee govt fell. By one vote. Imagine what a Congress govt or a Dravidian party would have done under the circumstances.Power corrupts but not all.
That was the first and last time I met PM Vajpayee in close proximity. But his lessons linger on.. Never get cunning to achieve anything. We should never ever manipulate, twist, practice subterfuge in our private and public lives for Karma is watching all of us.
Much maligned MN also proved that he was a loyalist par excellence despite huge temptations of favours.
#RIPVajpayeeji
Memoirs of Shrinagesh M
I was private secretary to Union Cabinet Minister Barnala in 1999 and because of Jayalalithaa's withdrawal of support to NDA govt, there was turmoil. Subramaniam Swamy & Sonia wanted NDA to fall and had solicited Jaya's help. Even their tea meeting in Delhi was hailed as a storm in a tea cup.
A think tank calculated that if the govt had the support of three ADMK MPs in Lok Sabha, Vajpayee govt may survive. My Minister asked me to talk to my erstwhile colleague and friend who was Sasikala's husband , M Natarajan. I didn't have a mobile then and had MN's land line number. But MN was not picking my calls. I contacted one Prabhakara in South Ex2 who was introduced to me by MN. He even had a Toyota car with Tamilnadu regd which he claimed was presented by MN. Prabhakara arrived at the residence of Minister Barnala on Tughlak road. He sought the details of the deal. We promised to revert in short time.
Minister called and invited Minister Pramod Mahajan for a meeting and we met. Mahajan promised a cabinet Minister post for MN if gov survived the no confidence vote. I conveyed the message to Prabhakara and who in my presence called MN on his mobile and requested him to do the needful and detailed him the benefits. MN said he will revert the next day. He never did and Prabhakara's calls did reach a dead end. Few years later MN confessed to me that as a loyalist he could never betray Jaya thou she had imagined otherwise. In fact we needed only two MPs and we had enticed one on our own.
We escalated the issue to PM. He called us all immediately to his residence. Speaking softly he told us that we should never be cunning to preserve and protect anything including government. That alone will set apart his govt as unique under all conditions. He advised us to drop the idea.
Next day, the Vajpayee govt fell. By one vote. Imagine what a Congress govt or a Dravidian party would have done under the circumstances.Power corrupts but not all.
That was the first and last time I met PM Vajpayee in close proximity. But his lessons linger on.. Never get cunning to achieve anything. We should never ever manipulate, twist, practice subterfuge in our private and public lives for Karma is watching all of us.
Much maligned MN also proved that he was a loyalist par excellence despite huge temptations of favours.
#RIPVajpayeeji
Memoirs of Shrinagesh M
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