Modi’s Rajya Sabha speech rekindles Sitaram Kesri’s humiliating ouster from Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reference to former Congress president Sitaram Kesri during the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha has rekindled a lot of memories particularly in the context of how Kesri was unceremoniously removed as head of the grand old party. “Sitaram Kesri who belonged to a backward caste and was the Congress president, was thrown onto the footpath. The country saw what the Congress did to Sitaram Kesri,” Modi had said. Here is an account of what had happened to Kesri. On 14 March, 1998, the Congress’ 24 Akbar Road headquarters was a mute witness to a coup that saw the rather unsavoury exit of an “elected” Congress president and the appointment of Sonia Gandhi as party chief. Kesri, then in his 79th year, had arrived at the CWC meeting convinced that a party president could not be forced out. He did not know that before the 11 am meeting, most CWC members had gathered at Pranab Mukherjee’s house to endorse two crucial statements. The first was an ultimatum asking Kesri to step down; the second, a resolution replacing him with Sonia. The moment Kesri stepped into the hall, he knew something was amiss. Loyalist Tariq Anwar was the only one who stood up to greet him. After Kesri sat down, Mukherjee began reading out a resolution “thanking” him for his services. A horrified Kesri shouted, “Arre yeh kya keh rahe ho (What are you saying)”, but there was a smirk on the faces of his colleagues. Kesri raved against the “unconstitutional” meeting and stormed out, followed by loyalist Anwar. As he was getting into his car, he was heckled and some Youth Congress workers even tried to pull down his dhoti. By the time Kesri exited 24 Akbar Road, the nameplate outside what used to be his room had already been replaced with a computer printout that read: “Congress President Sonia Gandhi.” When Kesri reached his Purana Qila residence, he was in no mood for his favourite Pomeranian Ruchi’s joyous welcome. Eyewitnesses, however, recalled that the moment he kicked her, Kesri was overcome with remorse. The finest of biscuits — presented to Kesri during his tenure — were offered to the puzzled Ruchi. Arriving journalists found the Congress veteran calmer. He bad-mouthed Mukherjee, Jitendra Prasada and Arjun Singh but the ingrained reverence for the “Family” prevented him from attacking Sonia. Kesri later told this writer he was hoping for “correction” from Sonia after his ouster. When the new party chief arrived a few hours later to comfort him, Kesri rushed to greet her. Neither mentioned the “coup”. Sonia sought Kesri’s blessings and guidance and the old man puffed up with pleasure. By 7 pm, he was singing paeans to the Nehru-Gandhis while promising to get even with Mukherjee, Prasada and Arjun Singh. The Congress had become disillusioned with “Chacha” Kesri after the 1998 general election, when it won only 142 seats. The party had asked “nephews” Ahmad Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad to persuade the old man to quit but Kesri had refused. Then Manmohan Singh, Mukherjee and AK Antony had called on Kesri and got him to meet Sonia. On 9 March, five days before his ouster, Kesri announced he would resign to make way for Sonia but soon changed tack. He said he wanted a meeting of the 1,300-member AICC, which would need over a month to arrange, before quitting. On 13 March, Prasada hosted a lunch where 13 of the 17 CWC members signed Kesri’s political death warrant. Patel, Prasada, Mukherjee, RK Dhawan, Arjun, Azad, Sharad Pawar, Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, Antony, Manmohan, Meira Kumar, Oscar Fernandes and Madhavsinh Solanki signed the ultimatum to Kesri. JB Patnaik and Lalthanhawla later approved it. The 14 March resolution mentioned Kesri’s 9 March announcement and said the “confusion and state of uncertainty” had brought “organisational work to a standstill”. During the two-and-a-half-years more that he lived, Kesri would often say: “Congress leadership tapte hue suraj ke saman hai. Bahut pas jaoge to jal jaoge aur bahut door rahoge to thand se mar jaoge (The Congress leadership is like the blazing sun. Get too close and you’ll be burnt, stay too far and you’ll freeze to death).” The freedom fighter and former Union minister died a disturbed and disillusioned man and never reconciled to his unceremonious ouster. There was much that he wanted to say but he suffered an asthma attack and then slipped into a coma. The end came on 24 October, 2000, weeks short of his 81st birthday. His faithful dog, Ruchi, died the same evening. The reviewer is a Visiting Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. 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