Vice-President Hamid Ansari, President Pranab Mukherjee and Congress leader Karan Singh at the book launch pti photo
New Delhi: The opening of Ram Janmabhoomi temple site in Ayodhya was an “error of judgement” by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and the demolition of Babri Masjid an act of ”absolute perfidy” that destroyed India’s image, President Pranab Mukherjee has said in his memoir released Thursday.
“The opening of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple site on 1 February 1986 was perhaps another error of judgement. People felt these actions could have been avoided,” the President has written in the book titled The Turbulent Years: 1980-96, released by Vice-President Hamir Ansari.
“The demolition of Babri Masjid was an act of absolute perfidy…It was the senseless, wanton destruction of a religious structure, purely to serve political ends. It deeply wounded the sentiments of the Muslim community in India and abroad. It destroyed India’s image as a tolerant, pluralistic nation,” he says.
“Insurgency and cross border terrorism broke out in Jammu and Kashmir; the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir-Babri Masjid issue rocked the nation. Finally, a suicide bomber brought Rajiv’s life to an abrupt and tragic end on 21 May 1991,” he says.
The vhp’s campaign by mobilising activists to collect bricks from all over the country and take them in a procession to Ayodhya caused communal tension, he said.
Talking about circumstances that led to his ouster from Rajiv’s Cabinet and then from the party, Mukherjee admitted to “have sensed Rajiv’s growing unhappiness and the hostility of those around him and taken pre-emptive action”.
“To the question of why he dropped me from the Cabinet and expelled me from the party, all I can say is that he made mistakes and so did I. He let others influence him and listened to their calumnies against me. I let my frustration overtake my patience,” he said.
The President was forced to leave Congress in April 1986 after which he formed Rashtriya Samajwadi Congress.Recalling the Shah Bano case, the President says Rajiv Gandhi’s action eroded his image of a modern man.
“Rajiv’s actions on the Shah Bano judgment and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill drew criticism and eroded his modern image,” the President said.
Mukherjee says Rajiv Gandhi was criticised for his reliance on some friends and advisers who installed the so-called ‘babalog’ government. “Some of them turned out to be fortune seekers.”
The Bofors issue proved to be one of the causes for Rajiv Gandhi’s undoing in 1989 Lok Sabha elections, though no charge was substantiated against him till date, Mukherjee writes. Mukherjee went on to scotch long-standing speculation about his Prime Ministerial aspirations after Indira Gandhi’s assassination and termed these stories as “false and spiteful”.
Mukherjee says: “Many stories have been circulated that I aspired to be the interim Prime Minister, that I had staked claim and had to be persuaded otherwise. “And that this created misgivings in Rajiv Gandhi’s mind. These stories are completely false and spiteful.”
“Time was ticking away and I was very keen to talk to him. I went near the couple (Rajiv and Sonia) and gently touched Rajiv on the back of his shoulder to indicate that I had some very urgent work with him. He released himself from Sonia’s arms and turned around to talk to me.
“Knowing that I would not have disturbed him unless the matter was very urgent and confidential, he quickly led me to the bathroom attached to the room so that we could talk without being noticed by anyone else who may enter the room,” Mukherjee said.
The two had a discussion on the political situation then and views of partymen about appointing Rajiv as PM, which he had agreed to become.
Later, “I came out of the bathroom and conveyed Rajiv’s decision to everyone”. PTI
