Vajpayee admitted 2002 riots were BJP's mistake: All you need to know about ex-RAW chief Dulat's book

India’s former spooks rarely write books, so when the former Research and Analysis Wing chief AS Dulat writes one on Kashmir during the years when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister then it’s bound to make for some interesting reading. From the IC-814 hijacking to Vajpayee’s reaction to the 2002 communal riots, his book is expected to deal with it all and we have some snippets of what to expect thanks to an interview and some excerpts.

Here are the highlights from an interview and excerpts from his new book:

About stopping the IC-814 hijacking at Dubai and foiled commando 

The former Raw chief said in an interview that when the IC-814 hijacking took place on 24 December in 1999, the Crisis Management Group (CMG) had ‘goofed up’ the entire incident by not immobilising the aircraft when it landed in Amritsar. The aircraft then flew on to Lahore, Dubai and finally landed in Kandahar, where the hostages were exchanged for was made.

“No one was willing to take a decision and in that confusion no instructions were passed on to Punjab Police which had moved in its personnel. They carried on debating and the plane flew off,” Dulat said in an interview to Karan Thapar on India Today.

Launching his book, Dulat said that the then Punjab Police chief Sarabjit Singh had informed them that he had commandos at his disposal who were trained in anti-terrorism but authorities didn’t want casualties and didn’t give the go-ahead, reported the Times of India . 

Dulat’s book also reveals that India had considered a commando raid while the aircraft was at the Dubai airport but the absence of co-operation prevented anything from taking place.

“We tried to prevail on the Americans to put pressure on the UAE to allow us a raid, but India found itself isolated internationally. Nothing seemed to be going our way.” his book noted according to the Indian Express.  

Farooq Abdullah opposed releasing militants

Dulat said as the CMG agreed to release the three terrorists in exchange for the lives of the 155 passengers and the crew members members to end the 8-day-old hijack crisis, he was deputed to talk to the then Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah in Jammu as two of them – Mushtaq Latram and Malulana Masood Azhar – were lodged in the state’s jail.

Abdullah shouted at Dulat for “hours together” during their meeting after a decision was taken to release three hardcore militants in exchange for the freedom of the passengers of the hijacked Indian Airlines plane in 1999, it was recalled.

Dulat said that Farooq felt the decision by the Union Government was a ‘mistake’  and he had stormed off their meeting to call on Governor Girish Chander Saxena with an intention to resign.

Recounting his meeting with Farooq, Dulat said “he shouted at me for hours together saying this was a mistake being committed by the Centre.

“After he vented his anger, he stormed off to meet Governor Girish Chander Saxena with an intention to resign,” he said.

According to the Indian Express report , Saxena had to rely on his best bottle of Scotch and some negotiation to get the Chief Minister to stay on.

“However, the Governor calmed him down and Abdullah eventually accepted the situation and agreed to the release of terrorists,” he said.

Vajpayee’s regret about the 2002 Gujarat riots

During the interview, Dulat briefly mentioned about his last meeting with the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in which the BJP stalwart had said “woh humare se galti hui hai(it was our mistake)” about the 2002 Gujarat riots.

After the defeat in the 2004 elections, Dulat recounts a conversation with Vajpayee.

“I said: Sir, Yeh kya hua? So he laughed heartily and said: Unko (Congress) bhi nahi maloom yeh kya hua! He said even Congress has been taken by surprise, not just us. And then along the way, Vajpayee said: Shayad hamare se Gujarat mein galati ho gayi. And then he got a bit serious and sad. I did not ask him anything further,” Dulat said.

Why the Agra summit with Pervez Musharraf failed and who pulled the strings in Vajpayee government

About the failed Agra summit, Dulat said that a meeting Advani had with Gen. Pervez Musharraf the night before soured the atmosphere.

This is when Advani surprised Musharraf by asking for Dawood Ibrahim. This took Musharraf back and a shadow was cast thereafter on the Agra summit.

“Yaar, hote-hote reh gaya. Ho gaya tha, woh toh,” he recalled Mishra telling him after the failure of summit and added that he was “palpably disappointed”.

Talking about the role of Brajesh Mishra, Dulat said he “virtually ran the government” during Vajpayee’s Prime Ministership.

“Mishra was more powerful than the home minister (Advani). This made for an uncomfortable relationship between Mishra and Advani. Vajpayee readily acquiesced to this power arrangement which made Mishra more powerful.”

Target wasn’t Mufti’s daughter but Abdullah’s

Dulat also revealed that Rubayya Sayeed, daughter of state Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, was never the target of militants in 1989.

“It was Saffia, daughter of Abdullah whom they wanted to kidnap. But, as Sayeed become the Home Minister in the VP Singh government, they (militants) decided to take her hostage,” he said, adding this was told to him by the militant who had planned the kidnapping.

Making Abdullah the Vice President

Recalling his days as Advisor in the PMO, Dulat, an IPS officer of 1965 batch of Rajasthan cadre, also said that there was a plan to make Abdullah Vice President in early 2002 and Omar Abdullah Chief Minister of the state.

“The offer to make Farooq Abdullah Vice President happened at my residence at a private dinner and it was made on behalf of Vajpayee by Brajesh Mishra. Later, Abdullah told me that both Vajpayee and L K Advani and had reconfirmed the offer,” he said.

However, Abdullah always had doubts whether the NDA government would fulfil this promise. “I don’t trust them. I don’t trust Delhi,” were the words of Abdullah to Dulat. The other problem was that Farooq becoming Vice President was part of an arrangement whereby Krishan Kant would become President.

“When the latter didn’t happen the promise to Abdullah fell by the wayside,” he said.

Militant wanting medical seat for son

In another disclosure which Dulat has mentioned in his book “Kashmir: The Vajpayee Years”, he said that in early 1990s, self-styled Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin had called local Intelligence Bureau chief KM Singh and sought his help in securing a medical seat for his son.

“Singh approached Abdullah, who was the Chief Minister, and the work was done,” Dulat said and maintained that these favours are extended always with a hope that they would be converted into a surrender of the militants.

“This is done world over by all the spying agencies,” he said. Vajpayee on not allying with Mufti

He also recalled that Vajpayee had called on Congress President Sonia Gandhi and asked her to ensure that there was no tie up with Mufti Sayeed in government formation.

The reason for this, according to Dulat, was that Sayeed was more comfortable with Jamaat-e-Islamia, the political wing of Hizbul Mujahideen and that his daughter Mehbooba had links with the terror group itself.

As a result, during a visit to Srinagar in April 2003, Vajpayee insisted that Mehbooba should not be on the stage with him and Mufti Sayeed, he said.

Speaking about the separatist leadership in the state, Dulat said the Mirwaiz Umer Farooq was one such leader who could be roped into the mainstream.

“But he is a scared person and fears for his life,” he said.

About the Sayeed-Abdullah relationship, Dulat claimed that Sayeed has a complex about Abdullah.

“He is in awe of him (Abdullah) and sees himself as socially inferior,” he said.

with inputs from PTI