‘Tiwari ji always spoke of development’

Iwas DM Udham Singh Nagar when I had the chance to interact with ND Tiwari, who was an MP from the region. I still remember receiving a call at night from him.

He was courteous. In his typically polite yet firm style, he said, “Mr DM, we haven’t met so far but I want to make a few things clear. First, if I have to tell something to you I will do so directly and hence you shouldn’t believe anyone who claims they are making a request on my behalf,” recalls Mahesh Gupta, principal secretary of the UP Secretariat Administration Department (SAD).

“The other thing he told me was that if I thought a development project required a political push, he would always be there to help. I was a young officer back then and to me it meant a politician showing willingness to help in development,” Gupta said. Back then, it was an undivided

HE ALWAYS SPOKE OF DEVELOPMENT AND WOULD ENGAGE WITH BUREAUCRATS ON HOW TO INITIATE PROJECTS

UP. “Tiwariji dreamt of a developed hill region. I still remember him telling me that in villages of the region four things were on his priority list - road, electricity, telephone and schools and he ensured that it came true,” recalls Gupta saying the title of ‘vikas purush’ fit him well. “He always spoke of development and would constantly engage with bureaucrats on how to initiate development projects,” Gupta said adding that NDT always spoke pleasingly and never used a foul word.