Mrs Gandhi beat Morarji Desai, even in death, but their rivalry remains unmatched
Yashwant Mehta
veteran columnist
At the end of the 14th century, Prince Khurram of Gujarat
smelt an opportunity to capture Delhi, gathered a bunch of warriors and started marching. But he died on the way. For about six centuries, nobody from Gujarat eyed Delhi. However, since 1946, three people appeared on the scene. The first was Sardar Patel, a serious contender of Jawaharlal Nehru for the prime ministry. Nowadays, Narendra Modi’s name is doing the rounds. However, his chance of leading the nation is minimal, given the political health of BJP and bitter inter-party rivalry. The only Gujarati to go all the way was Morarji Desai. He tried in the 1960s to emerge as Nehru ‘s heir and later became Indira Gandhi’s strongest rival. He even succeeded in becoming the Prime Minister once, relegating the ‘iron lady’ to the political margins, albeit for a very short time. The tussle started in 1964 and was to last till Indira’s assassination in 1984.
Morarji Desai, born in a middle class south Gujarat family on February 19, 1896, started his career in the civil service at the age of 22. Morarji’s political career received a major boost from incidents in Godhra, a point shared by Modi. Morarji’s actions in the 1930 Godhra riots led to the British Raj forcing him to resign. Morarji joined politics. He was soon elected to the Bombay state Assembly in 1937. He became home minister in 1946 and chief minister in 1952. His staunch opposition to linguistic reorganisation of states embittered many a Gujarati. But the will of the people of Maharastra and Gujarat prevailed and on May 1, 1960, the bilingual Bombay state was bifurcated.
An efficient administrator and mass leader, he soon captured the top position in the Gujarat Congress. He also became a darling of the moneybags. Being the Union finance minister, he enjoyed considerable power. He probably started dreaming of premiership at this point, especially as Nehru was getting old. His ambition found expression during a visit to USA where he declared that he was slated to become the next Prime Minister of India. This alerted the Nehru camp, which was keen to see Indira, already a part of the Central cabinet, don the cap.
A scheme was hatched in June 1963 whereby all ministers above the age of 60 were asked to resign voluntarily. Morarji resigned but realised that it was just a ploy to get rid of him.
The old warhorse waited for the right chance. It came soon. Nehru died on May 27, 1964. Morarji started his machinations. However, senior leaders thwarted his efforts; they found a compromise candidate in Lal Bahadur Shastri, a non-intrusive leader from UP. Morarji continued to seethe. Another chance arrived. Shastri died on January 10, 1966. In the internal election between two candidates, Morarji lost and Indira won.
The 1967 Lok Sabha elections saw the Congress falling short of majority. The leaders needed all sorts of compromises and Morarji was appeased with the offer of deputy prime ministry.
However, the rivalry continued. The Congress needed to take populist steps. They contemplated abolition of privy purses of erstwhile princes and nationalisation of banks. Morarji opposed these moves. By this time, Indira had gathered sufficient courage to take on the veteran. On July 16, 1969, she took away the finance portfolio from him. A ruffled Morarji resigned, declaring that Indira had thrown him out of the Cabinet. Indira announced nationalisation of 14 banks on that very day.
But Morarji’s ambition did not subside. He still enjoyed influence in Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan. In 1974, the sparks of anti-price rise and anti-corruption movements flew from Gujarat and flared into a nationwide agitation, threatening Indira Gandhi. When Indira pushed the panic button in the form of Emergency, Morarji came into the limelight again. His archrival incarcerated him along with many other leaders.
Jail proved to be a blessing in disguise. Indira lost the 1977 elections to a ragtag outfit called Janata Party. Morarji was chosen to lead the government. He unleashed all his anti-Indira fury. A probe panel was constituted to look into her ‘crimes’.
However, Morarji did not have his revenge as the Janata Party split in two years, this time pushing him into oblivion. After his resignation on July 15, 1979, he withdrew from active politics. Indira bounced back in 1980. Morarji lived to be a centurion and died a quiet death on April 11, 1995. His archrival got the better of him in death as well. She attained martyrdom, falling to bullets of her disgruntled Sikh bodyguards. She became a symbol of bravery and national integration, while Morarji Desai had to be content with the mere distinction of being the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.
Yashwant Mehta
veteran columnist
At the end of the 14th century, Prince Khurram of Gujarat
smelt an opportunity to capture Delhi, gathered a bunch of warriors and started marching. But he died on the way. For about six centuries, nobody from Gujarat eyed Delhi. However, since 1946, three people appeared on the scene. The first was Sardar Patel, a serious contender of Jawaharlal Nehru for the prime ministry. Nowadays, Narendra Modi’s name is doing the rounds. However, his chance of leading the nation is minimal, given the political health of BJP and bitter inter-party rivalry. The only Gujarati to go all the way was Morarji Desai. He tried in the 1960s to emerge as Nehru ‘s heir and later became Indira Gandhi’s strongest rival. He even succeeded in becoming the Prime Minister once, relegating the ‘iron lady’ to the political margins, albeit for a very short time. The tussle started in 1964 and was to last till Indira’s assassination in 1984.Morarji Desai, born in a middle class south Gujarat family on February 19, 1896, started his career in the civil service at the age of 22. Morarji’s political career received a major boost from incidents in Godhra, a point shared by Modi. Morarji’s actions in the 1930 Godhra riots led to the British Raj forcing him to resign. Morarji joined politics. He was soon elected to the Bombay state Assembly in 1937. He became home minister in 1946 and chief minister in 1952. His staunch opposition to linguistic reorganisation of states embittered many a Gujarati. But the will of the people of Maharastra and Gujarat prevailed and on May 1, 1960, the bilingual Bombay state was bifurcated.
An efficient administrator and mass leader, he soon captured the top position in the Gujarat Congress. He also became a darling of the moneybags. Being the Union finance minister, he enjoyed considerable power. He probably started dreaming of premiership at this point, especially as Nehru was getting old. His ambition found expression during a visit to USA where he declared that he was slated to become the next Prime Minister of India. This alerted the Nehru camp, which was keen to see Indira, already a part of the Central cabinet, don the cap.
A scheme was hatched in June 1963 whereby all ministers above the age of 60 were asked to resign voluntarily. Morarji resigned but realised that it was just a ploy to get rid of him.
The old warhorse waited for the right chance. It came soon. Nehru died on May 27, 1964. Morarji started his machinations. However, senior leaders thwarted his efforts; they found a compromise candidate in Lal Bahadur Shastri, a non-intrusive leader from UP. Morarji continued to seethe. Another chance arrived. Shastri died on January 10, 1966. In the internal election between two candidates, Morarji lost and Indira won.
The 1967 Lok Sabha elections saw the Congress falling short of majority. The leaders needed all sorts of compromises and Morarji was appeased with the offer of deputy prime ministry.
However, the rivalry continued. The Congress needed to take populist steps. They contemplated abolition of privy purses of erstwhile princes and nationalisation of banks. Morarji opposed these moves. By this time, Indira had gathered sufficient courage to take on the veteran. On July 16, 1969, she took away the finance portfolio from him. A ruffled Morarji resigned, declaring that Indira had thrown him out of the Cabinet. Indira announced nationalisation of 14 banks on that very day.
But Morarji’s ambition did not subside. He still enjoyed influence in Gujarat, Karnataka and Rajasthan. In 1974, the sparks of anti-price rise and anti-corruption movements flew from Gujarat and flared into a nationwide agitation, threatening Indira Gandhi. When Indira pushed the panic button in the form of Emergency, Morarji came into the limelight again. His archrival incarcerated him along with many other leaders.
Jail proved to be a blessing in disguise. Indira lost the 1977 elections to a ragtag outfit called Janata Party. Morarji was chosen to lead the government. He unleashed all his anti-Indira fury. A probe panel was constituted to look into her ‘crimes’.
However, Morarji did not have his revenge as the Janata Party split in two years, this time pushing him into oblivion. After his resignation on July 15, 1979, he withdrew from active politics. Indira bounced back in 1980. Morarji lived to be a centurion and died a quiet death on April 11, 1995. His archrival got the better of him in death as well. She attained martyrdom, falling to bullets of her disgruntled Sikh bodyguards. She became a symbol of bravery and national integration, while Morarji Desai had to be content with the mere distinction of being the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.
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