A friend in need

LUNCH WITH BS/ Kamal Nath

Kamal Nath

In 1979, when the Janata Party government sent his "friend and leader" Sanjay Gandhi to Tihar Jail, Kamal Nath decided to join him. Since detention in Tihar Jail cannot be by invitation, he asked his lawyers to find a way out.

"Mrs [Indira] Gandhi was getting worried about Sanjay, I had to somehow get myself jailed," Nath says.

The problem was resolved a day later when he acted on his lawyer's advice and threw a paper ball at the judge during a court hearing.

Sensing that the judge might not be able to locate him in the crowd, Kamal Nath shouted at the top of his voice that he was the only one responsible for the misconduct. To his disappointment, the judge merely slapped a fine of Rs 500. Not one to give up, he refused to pay the fine and was promptly sent to Tihar jail for seven days.

While in jail, he was, however, cautious enough to ensure that he wasn't charged with any other misconduct, because that could attract imprisonment up to seven years.

But the time spent in Indian jails (he went to jail 14 times after the Emergency) was "interesting".

"For the first time in my life, I had neighbours like Charles Sobhraj," Nath remembers, taking a deep sip of the sweet lime juice that tastes delightfully different from the standard fare you get at five-star restaurants. "Khas-khas has done the trick," he says.

We are at 1 Tughlak Road, Nath's tastefully-decorated official residence since 1999. The commerce and industry minister's fondness for crystal and carpets is quite evident. Our luncheon invitation has been pending for a long time and Nath finally agreed only on the condition that he would host the lunch at his home.

As he ushers us into a sit-out overlooking the garden, Nath says he had been eyeing this bungalow since 1990, but had to wait for seven years.

The house was converted into a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) office after the earlier occupant, the high-profile Mohammad Yunus (the former Indian Trade Promotion Organisation chief), died.

RAW moved out quickly, but Nath's hopes of moving in still didn't materialise. He was told that the government was considering the house as a detention centre for Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE ) leader S Prabhakaran in case he was arrested following the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi.

Prabhakaran, however, didn't oblige and Nath finally got his chance to move in. What's so special about this house? Nath offers a rather mundane answer: this house has two separate wings: one for office work and the other for his personal use. "It gives me the privacy I want," he says.

His "privacy", of course, includes meetings with his ministry officials till late into the night even on weekends. "I have to work hard as I need to understand the matter first before making up my mind. I have never given any typewritten notes to my officials, everything is handwritten," he says with a great deal of satisfaction.

The 58-year-old minister is among the few Sanjay Gandhi loyalists who has maintained their presence within the Congress party even after the latter's death and the rise of Rajiv Gandhi. How did he manage it, we ask, hoping to put him on the backfoot "" for once. But Nath is unflappable.

"There are many others who have not only survived but prospered much more than me," he says before reeling out a few names on condition that I keep this off the record.

The lunch "" served in extra-large, stainless steel thalis "" has an assortment of vegetables, dal, chicken curry, rice and piping hot chapatis with rich helpings of ghee.

And Nath continues with stories of his "exciting" days with Sanjay Gandhi "" the wonderful days they spent together at Doon (Rajiv was a few years senior to him in the same school), as colleagues, and in jail.

"We were together at Tihar and Bareilley jails, and Sanjay always acted as a sympathetic monitor, keeping a close watch on our needs and whether we were feeling at home," he recalls.

He also remembers clearly the day when they both went to a wedding reception in a Matador van ("that was the only decent large vehicle you got those days") and Sanjay saw Maneka for the first time. "The journey back home was unusual because Sanjay kept quiet throughout. I could see the beginning of a lasting relationship," he says.

Throughout the lunch, Nath issues instructions to his assistants to ensure that his guests are well fed. His days with Sanjay are clearly one of his favourite topics and he recalls the time when he helped Sanjay to set up Maruti.

"The Maruti office at that time had just two tables and there were times when we would end up spending the night sleeping on those. I often joke with Jagdish Khattar [Maruti's managing director] about those days," he says.

Sanjay's main problem, Nath says, was caused by the failure of his public relations machinery: the younger son of Mrs Gandhi just couldn't get over the perception problem. Which is a pity because much of what he had thought of then is being implemented now. The loyalty to a dear friend is obviously still intact.

As the helpers serve home-made gulab jamun, the conversation veers to the Presidential elections in the US (the lunch took place before the final results). Nath says former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao used him frequently (he was the environment minister then) to capitalise on his "good contacts" abroad.

For instance, he had hosted the Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry way back in 1993, when he was a Senator and had come to India to look at the possibility of developing joint initiatives between the US and Indian states .

Kerry is not the only high-profile American friend Nath has. Former Vice President Al Gore is another. The friendship with Gore developed during the long morning walks they had during the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Gore had not become the vice-president then. "Each country attending the summit had been given four cars and I would invariably end up offering Gore a lift as the Americans' cars were always busy," he says. Rao used this friendship quite often to convey to the US vice president about India's concerns on issues like Kashmir.

He remembers with relish when he caught his "friend" Robert Zoellick "" US Trade Representative "" off-guard by asking him to get a picture of an American farmer. That should be easy, Zoellick told him.

"No, but I want the picture of a real farmer and not that of American corporates masquerading as farmers," he insisted. The usually unflappable Zoellick was stumped.

Although his mobile starts ringing incessantly, reminding him of his scheduled afternoon meetings, Nath is in no hurry, and orders tea. Pointing at the crowd of people from his constituency standing outside his residence, Nath says he doesn't mind his punishing schedule one bit.

"A Rajya Sabha member does not have to bother about his political constituency but a Lok Sabha member like me has his duties cut out. I have to spend a plenty of time listening to my people from Madhya Pradesh. I keep telling my officials in Udyog Bhavan that what I bring to the ministry is the political perspective on issues," he says.

The phone rings again and one of his aides reminds him about his appointment with Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. Nath takes the cue and gets up to leave, but not before extending an inviting for a continental meal at his house sometime in the near future.

"The minister seems to be in a really great mood," remarks one of his assistants.