Jagatsinghpur: This may sound incredible but true. A man of Jayabada area in the town has the unique distinction of chauffeuring four former Prime Ministers of the country.
Ramesh Chandra Das (69) has retired from service but he gets nostalgic when he is reminded of his good old days with four former Prime Ministers.
He served Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi, Chandrasekhar, Viswanath Pratap Singh and PV Narasimha Rao and three former Lok Sabha Speakers and received several awards and certificates for meritorious service.
He last worked as a security personnel in Lok Sabha before retiring in 2009.
When Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister, he used to ask him for cashew nuts and chocolates while travelling with him in the car. He also had the opportunity to go on a weeklong picnic party with the former Prime Minister, his wife Sonia Gandhi, daughter Priyanka and son Rahul to Uttarakhand. He reminisces the days when Chandrasekhar invited him for food.
Das started his career as a constable in Orissa Police in 1962 and had his first posting in Keonjhar before joining OMP Jharsuguda where he learned car driving.
In 1969, he joined the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and started working as a sepoy in Bhubaneswar.
Later, he was transferred to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and then to Nagaland before being shifted to New Delhi on deputation. There he worked as the personal security guard for former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for five years before getting a promotion as a havildar.
A special task force was formed after the death of Indira Gandhi. Later, he was engaged as a driver of Rajiv Gandhi when he became the Prime Minister after the death of his mother.
Speaking about some intimate moments he shared with the former Prime Minister, Das said Rajiv would ask for cashew nuts and chocolates from him while traveling in the car.
However, both would never talk to each other and he only concentrates on driving except when the former Prime Minister would ask for cashew nuts and chocolates.
He was overwhelmed by such gesture of the former Prime Minister and developed a soft corner for him.
Once he and four other drivers accompanied Rajiv and his family for a weeklong picnic at a National Park in Uttarakhand He can never forget those moments.
There Rajiv rode upon an elephant and went around the jungle accompanied by his personal security guards, armed jawans and four other elephants.
All the drivers including him had a great time as Rajiv never objected to them enjoying the picnic. He also accompanied Rajiv when he visited Cuttack for inauguration of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.
The Prime Minister’s bullet-proof car (Ambassador) came in flight a week before his visit which he drove and reviewed the route to the stadium. He drove Rajiv to the stadium after he alighted from his chopper at Charbatia on Cuttack’s outskirts.
He also accompanied Rajiv and drove him when he visited Kalahandi and served him during elections.
He served former Prime Minister Viswanath Pratap Singh and drove him in the car during elections from Delhi to Haryana and then to Rajasthan and travelled for over 250 km.
Chandrasekhar as Prime Minister had invited him and other drivers for lunch and dinner several times. When Narasingh Rao was the Prime Minister he had the opportunity to visit his house in Hyderabad.
He also had the opportunity to accompany Rao to Garhwal in Uttarakhand and during his visit to Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. PNN
