All of last week, Rajnath Singh was busy raising the cup to his lips and lowering it, praying there would be no slips in between. When I fixed up to have lunch with him, I wasn’t sure whether I should address him as India’s Union surface transport minister or the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. Allowances also had to be made for cups, lips and slips. No one knows that better than Singh — He’d been ‘tipped’ to be Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister twice before. Luck had eluded him each time.
But this time it really happened. Days after our lunch, Singh was anointed Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister in an impressive ceremony at the sprawling Raj Bhavan in Lucknow. But the discussion that we had during lunch was significant and interesting.
Even more interesting was the way he consented to lunch. When I asked him to name the place where he would like to go to lunch, at first Singh said: “anywhere”.
But suddenly he asked me if his Ashoka road residence could be the venue. “Look, I don’t feel comfortable in restaurants. Tell your editor I’m a dehati man who prefers to eat at home” he said with an air of finality. I agreed.
Finally, it didn’t matter. Food receded into the background as lunch was served: thalis (no porcelain, melamine or plastic here, only proper, Uttar Pradesh-style thalis) with bowls of vegetable, dal ,curd and chapattis. I tried to make him the focus of attack instead of the food. How serious was he about going to Uttar Pradesh?
Singh was prepared for the question. “I have never made any attempt to get the Uttar Pradesh chief ministership and I am not keen on it” he said. I put on my ‘oh-absolutely- I’m completely-convinced’ look. His already large nose seemed to grow in my imagination as he continued that he had ‘indulged in no shrewd political manoeuvres’ to get Uttar Pradesh’s top executive post. “Yes, I’m concerned about Uttar Pradesh because it is, after all, the largest state in India” he said righteously.
Then, almost in proportion to the hot chapattis that kept landing in our plate as if by magic, (no tandoori nonsense here, thank God! They were good tawa rotis, soft and piping hot), bite by bite, the real story emerged. Singh revealed that each time he was tipped for the Uttar Pradesh chief ministership, his name was shot down because of opposition from state leaders.
“Advaniji asked me to introspect on why my name was evoking such strong opposition each time. Only a person with moral courage could give such suggestions” he said. Did he introspect? Rummage his soul? “Yes” Singh said. He did try to analyse his failures but, not unnaturally, failed to arrive at a conclusion. “But I have taken Advaniji’s words seriously and will seek his guidelines” he said.
He was frequently called a “thakur leader” Did he feel elated or offended by this label? “I feel disgusted” said Singh. “If the caste had been a binding factor, V P Singh, Chandrashekhar, Arjun Singh and Digvijay Singh would have been one” By now he had finished chapattis and a bowl of green palak ka saag and asked for plain boiled rice. “I hate being called a thakur leader. That’s plain opportunism” he said. He glanced at my thali and called the cook to replenish my katori of dal and coconut chutney.
What about the company he kept? There were allegations that he routinely patronised criminals. “Give me one instance?” he asked. I referred to his insistence on including criminals in the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet when Kalyan Singh formed the government in 1998. “I was not alone in that decision. It was the unanimous decision of all top leaders because of the prevailing political circumstances. And then, if you feel that anybody is criminal, throw him out. I didn’t prevent any Chief Minister from doing so” he said, a flash of belligerence suddenly showing.
What would he do about this when he became Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister. “This is hypothetical question. But I have zero tolerance for corruption and criminality” he said.
I sensed and felt the suaveness and sophistication Singh has acquired in his political career over the years. But his stubbornness is still a kind of legend among those who know him from the old days, especially those who’ve watched him as higher education minister in Uttar Pradesh in 1991. Singh introduced what is perceived as a “draconian law” to curb copying in the examination.
He might have earned kudos for this from the urban middle class but had to bear the full brunt of the ire of students. This cost him dearly in political terms as he lost 1994 assembly election from Mahona — an assembly segment which has a sizeable population of Lucknow university students.
“When I was in high school, I found one of my cousin copying in exams. It made me angry. As education minister, this was on top of my agenda.” he explained, I felt, a little ingenuously. In fact, it was just his bullheadedness which prevented him from acknowledging that he’d taken a decision that was populist and therefore hailed by a section of the voting public but had backfired badly among another.
Our thalis were taken away. The cook served two bowls of sewai as dessert — a sweet dish typical of eastern Uttar Pradesh, made of milk and wheat noodles. Did being a a Union minister and therefore being part of the system ever inhibit him?
Singh waited for a moment, rested his spoon in the bowl and drew a deep breath. “Yes, I do feel inhibited by the system at times” he admitted with the air of making a huge confession (why this was so difficult, I don’t know). How did he overcome this? “I’ve devised my own way of dealing with the system. It is effective” he said with a hint of a smile. I visualised heavy-handed methods. I was wrong. Singh’s ‘way’ was more tepid. “I persist with rightness till I achieve my objective” he said.
Those who know the way the surface transport ministry works are aware of Singh’s opposition to the National Highway Authority of India(NHAI) chairman’s endorsement of awarding a certain contract to a private party. Singh ultimately prevailed as his opinion was upheld by the law ministry. NHAI had to cancel the contract and call for fresh bidding.
Singh had polished off his sweet dish. I was a bit slower. But I took this opportunity to continue with the conversation. What about Uttar Pradesh? Wasn’t he uncertain about his future? “This uncertainty has certainly affected the functioning in my ministry” he said candidly.
At that stage, Singh didn’t want to discuss Uttar Pradesh. It would have betrayed his eagerness to move to the Uttar Pradesh’s top executive post. But more importantly, it would have invited unbridled hostility from his rivals in the Bhartiya Janata Party’s state unit. By then I’d finished my sweet dish and it was the time to leave. “I don’t think you found the food here less tasty than the fare served in Delhi’s five star hotels” was his parting remark.
Only a few days after this lunch, Singh was declared successor of Ram Prakash Gupta. On Saturday (October 28) he was sworn in as the chief minister of country’s largest state. On that occasion lunch was served at the Raj Bhavan and Rajnath Singh ate with 85 people — his ministers.
