The BJP, under Narendra Modi, created history [in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections] by becoming the first party since 1984 to win a majority on its own. The all-India tally of the Congress was a meagre 44 seats. The magnitude of the loss could be gauged from the fact that the party hadn’t even won 10 per cent of the total number of Lok Sabha seats required to nominate the LoP.
With the party relegated to the Opposition benches, I was given a new role—LoP in the Rajya Sabha, a position I held till my retirement from the Upper House in February 2021. It was a new experience from what I had been used to in the earlier years.
My stint as parliamentary affairs minister under three Congress PMs came in handy. I had developed excellent personal contacts with many leading Opposition leaders, and those relations helped me in my new role in many ways. But I had worked in an era in which we still had numerous stalwarts in Parliament across party lines. There existed lot of mutual respect. Attending each other’s parties and visiting each other’s houses was common, unlike today.
By 2014 though, much water had flown down the Ganga. The entire composition of MPs had changed in comparison to the mid-1980s and early 1990s, when academicians, literary figures and statesmen would rule the roost. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the quality of MPs has come down. There are very few who visit the well-stocked Parliament library to collect material and improve their knowledge. Many people have entered Parliament with an aim to further their business interests or the interests of vested groups. There are a number of cases against sitting MLAs and MPs in the country. I wish they were fast-tracked, so that the guilty get punished without delay and the innocent ones are left to do their work.
Thankfully, there were some known faces. Arun Jaitley, an old political adversary but also a personal friend, was leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha. His wife, Sangeeta, is from Jammu, and his father-in-law, Girdhari Lal Dogra, a Congressman, had been Congress minister for almost 30 years in the J&K government. Jaitley was not just articulate but also well-read. He would present his views in a clear and forceful manner. It was a treat to hear him speak. The ruling party also had other good speakers, such as Piyush Goyal and Bhupendra Yadav in the Rajya Sabha. I am happy that Yadav has been made a minister; he is capable and efficient.
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Throughout my speeches, I found Modi to be a great listener. Not even once did he rebut my arguments or speak against me, inside or outside Parliament. He would always remain calm, though he would taunt me by making some political references. But he never attacked me personally. This may also have been because, unlike other leaders, I would not call the PM or other members of the ruling party names or abuse them. But some other leaders would only think of pleasing the Congress leadership by abusing the BJP and its leaders without making any substantial contribution or suggestion on the floor of the House that could pin down the government. In the Congress party, some leaders feel that abusing the Opposition and calling names is the only way to fight the political rival. I have always felt that Opposition parties, whether in the Assembly, Parliament or outside, are our competitors and not our enemies. So while speaking, each political party must keep this in mind and not cross the Lakshman Rekha.
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On 9 February, my seven-year stint came to an end. I could not be re-elected since the J&K Assembly had been dissolved. Like my colleagues, I too was given a farewell by way of speeches, which is customary in the House of Elders. The chairperson was the first speaker. I am highly obliged to Venkaiah Naidu, who made an excellent speech and said many good words about me. I shall be beholden to him for the observations he made about me.
The second speaker was PM Modi. He praised me for my performance as LoP and for being a good human being. His speech was totally unlike his other speeches. He got very emotional, especially when narrating a particular incident. Everyone had forgotten about it, as it was from 15 years back, when I was the CM. I too had forgotten about it. He went back to 25 May 2006, when militants in Srinagar had hurled a grenade at a tourist bus carrying tourists from Gujarat. The attack took place when the government shifted to Kashmir in the first week of May, and the militants attempted to create a sense of fear and panic in me. They ‘welcomed’ me by killing innocent people in this horrifying incident.
On the morning of 25 May, I received information that militants had attacked a bus carrying passengers from Gujarat. Some passengers, including two children, were killed and several were injured. The bodies of the dead had been mutilated. The site of the attack—in the neighbourhood of Batpora—was close to my official residence, so I was able to rush to the site immediately and saw women and children weeping bitterly. I too was moved to tears. It was at this juncture that CM Modi called me. My staff told him that I was in no condition to speak with him since I was completely shattered.
I spoke to him a while later even as I continued to weep. He wanted the dead bodies to be sent immediately to Gujarat. I spoke to Dr Singh and requested an Air Force aircraft to transport the dead and injured. After taking the injured to the hospital, I ensured that the dead bodies were kept safely. By the evening, the aircraft arrived. We were also ready to send the bodies around that time. We knew how methodical Modi was; he and his office kept enquiring on an hourly basis about the injured passengers and the dead bodies so that his government could receive them in Gujarat.
I went to see off the mortal remains and the rest of the tourists at the airport. As I entered the aircraft, they all began weeping. I too was unable to control my emotions. Meanwhile, Modi called again. I choked and could hardly speak. Addressing the tourists, I could only ask for forgiveness. I said, ‘You had come to enjoy Kashmir, and instead I am sending back dead bodies. So, please forgive me.’
The media in Gujarat reported this much more than the national media did. Modi had seen all this on TV. I think a similar emotion arose in the PM during this farewell speech. He choked and could not speak; he just saluted. It was kind of him to have remembered a 15-year-old incident and share it at the most appropriate juncture in Parliament. He went to the extent of saying that I had called him as if my own family members had been killed. That was his way of describing me as a good human being. I am thankful to him.
Prime Minister Modi’s farewell speech, which was given wide coverage by the media, should have been a matter of great pride for the Congress party as well as its leadership, as a senior member of the party was feted by none less than the PM and by the leaders of other Opposition parties. Unfortunately, instead of appreciating my efforts and concern for the people of Gujarat and the tributes that the PM paid to the LoP of the Congress, the party leadership was extremely unhappy and critical. They dubbed me a BJP man. This clearly shows that they have no empathy for human tragedy and cannot think beyond petty politics.
(Excerpt from "Azaad: An Autobiography", by Ghulam Nabi Azad, with permission from Rupa Publications.)