Congress scion Rahul Gandhi may have included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his list of “gurus” which only had the name of Defence Minister A K Antony till recently but this has not affected the steady flow of political visitors to the Officer’s Wing at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital here where the “number two’’ in the Cabinet is recuperating. The minister had undergone a prostate surgery at the hospital recently.
His most high-profile visitors were, of course, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and son Rahul Gandhi who spent “nearly an hour’’ in the spartan room occupied by the country’s defence minister. The three apparently had a closed-door discussion in the room adjacent to his hospital bed. The two Gandhis also met Antony’s wife and youngest son who is an actor. The timing of the meeting was crucial, coming immediately after Rahul’s dramatic public denouncement of the Ordinance on convicted lawmakers, which embarrassed the prime minister. Singh’s first public outing after returning from a weeklong US visit was also to the hospital where he spent 15 minutes with Antony.
As if taking a cue from the top, many senior Cabinet ministers and party leaders asked for appointments to visit Antony, who also heads a committee formed by the Congress to look into the possibilities of strengthening UPA for the next Lok Sabha polls. But all were refused citing health reasons.
But Antony was lenient enough to give appointments to Left leaders, who consider the former as the “only Nehruvian’’ left in the array of “neo-liberal Congressmen”. So far, CPI(M) Politburo members who have visited Antony include CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat, Kerala State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, S Ramachandra Pillai, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and M A Baby. The defence minister apparently discussed national politics threadbare with the CPI(M) leaders.
“We had a good political discussion with him. He is our PM candidate,’’ said a CPI(M) member, jokingly when asked about the meeting. Antony has ruled out going back to his home state Kerala from where there is an incessant stream of requests urging a comeback as Congress politics in the state is in turmoil.
“He will not return to Kerala. His place is in national politics. If not as PM, he is an assured Presidential candidate,’’ said a Left leader.
After the CPI(M) leaders, CPI National Secretary D Raja and Annie Raja, General Secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women were next.
“The room with white paint is simple and spartan just like its occupant. Nobody can say here lives the country’s defence minister,’’ said one of his few visitors. According to him, Antony was wearing his trademark “loose white khadi shirt’’ and a “lungi’’. Even from his sickbed, he continues to hold regular meetings with officials. Antony is likely to be discharged from hospital this week.