He was always ready and never said no to the party
Iwas elected in 1977 and met Pranab da within the first year of coming to Parliament. For 43 years, we were in touch constantly, and became especially close when I served as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. That was an eventful time; Pranab da had started a new party in Bengal and then later became the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief. I was junior to him but he’d always treat me like a colleague or even a younger brother.
As PCC chief of Bengal, he had to handle several agitations. I remember once we visited the hospital to see those who were injured in one. Suddenly, things became quite tense. The thing that I most clearly remember about that incident is that he didn’t abandon me . He braved the stone-throwing to ensure that I sat in the car with him. He was known to be a tough person but whenever I called him for anything, he wouldn’t just hear me out, but get it done. I think it was either in the Bangalore plenary session or in Faizabad one that one minister who was supposed to address the party said that he wouldn’t be able to speak. I just asked Pranab da to give the speech ; with 10 minutes’ notice he spoke very well. He was always ready and never said no to the party.
We then worked together in the time of Sitaram Kesri. Whether it was on Kesri’s appointment as the Congress president or his resignation, we worked together.
Of course, he went on to play a major role in government. I remember during the vote on the Indo-US Nuclear deal (2008), we worked very closely to ensure that the vote of confidence went off very smoothly. That’s the reason we got exactly the kind of result that we wanted from it.
In core group meetings, where we again worked together, he would often be stern with some minister or member; if they said anything wrong, he’d immediately respond. This was typical of him.
The unusual thing about our meetings was that they were mostly held at night. I was usually his last visitor, dropping in at 11:30 pm or midnight or even later at least twice or thrice a week. He would finish that meeting, then shower and eat his dinner. Late night was the best time to talk to him, and it’s these exchanges where I got the best kind of guidance from him. He was an encyclopaedia of Indian politics and was well aware of all that was happening across the world. So, you’d always gain from these exchanges. Of course, I had a way of gauging his mood during these visits. If he said`Heralal, chai lao” (Bring some tea)’, then I’d know that he was in a good mood. If he simply said “Baithiye” (Sit)’ then I’d know that he was busy. This continued even when he took up a constitutional role.
When he was chosen to become President, I was the one who went to inform him of the clearance of his name. He was very happy and immediately thanked Soniaji (Sonia Gandhi) and others. Yes, he had arguments with people and differences of opinion but when he was informed of the PM’s decision or Soniaji’s, he would accept it. This despite the fact that he couldn’t become the Prime Minister, and that regret stayed with him. He never said it openly and it wasn’t that huge a source of bitterness for him. . H is goal didn’t stop him from doing a stellar job as a cabinet minister or the other assignments that he was given. For instance, when the United Progressive Alliance came to power in 2004, he wanted to be home minister. However, that wasn’t to be and he really worked hard at the defence portfolio. My visits to him as President weren’t just official ones. When he was writing his book or even otherwise, if we didn’t meet each other for a week or 10 days, he’d call me and ask where I was and that I should drop in. When he was invited to visit the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) headquarter in Nagpur, he took a long time to decide if he should go. He told me, “If I don’t go, then it will be a problem ; if I go, it will be a problem. It’s better that I go there and give my message.’’ And that’s what he did.
He had a big heart. I remember that I wanted him to inaugurate a hospital in my constituency. It wasn’t a big hospital at all but just because I asked him, he came all the way to Gujarat for its opening. I just think that I’m very lucky to have had the opportunity to have worked with him so closely. He taught me all the things I couldn’t learn from books-- history of the party, what happened when the Congress split twice .... He was very clear in his mind about what was right and he followed his principles. He said whatever was in his heart. He shared so much with me but some of them are things that I will never share with others. These are things that went with him and will also go with me to my grave.