Indira made Jagjivan Ram scapegoat during Emergency,says biography

According to the biography,while Jagjivan Ram was used by the Congress and the government for his popularity and competence,he was never given any position of eminence because the “prime minister’s chair was deemed to be the birthright of uchchavargiya (high-class) leaders only”.

The author says that Indira did not trust Jagjivan Ram. “Even before the imposition of Emergency and more so after it,Jagjivan Ram remained under suspicion,and central intelligence agencies strictly monitored all those who met him,” says the book,citing the writings of Indira’s “confidential sources”,apart from some other “reliable sources”.

“It is clear from Indiraji’s continuing distrust in him that… Jagjivan Babu’s popularity,political diplomacy (kootnitigyata) and competence was always taken advantage of by the party and the government. But when the question of giving him a position of eminence came,he was always pushed behind — probably because he hailed from the most neglected,deprived community while the prime minister’s chair was deemed to be the birthright of uchchavargiya leaders only,” it says.

“Along with Indiraji,Jagjivan Ram was the most senior and competent leader,who was the most eligible for the post of prime minister also… The biggest threat was from none other than Jagjivan Ram and therefore,he was considered the biggest scapegoat to move the resolution on Emergency,” says the biography (page 188).

According to the book,Jagjivan Ram came to know about the imposition of Emergency only the next morning,but he was asked to move the resolution supporting it in Parliament a month later. It was because of this resolution that Jagjivan Ram,who quit the Congress in 1977,could not even become prime minister in the Janata Party government,says the author. The arguments given by Jagjivan Ram in support of Emergency sounded “more like those given by the prime minister’s secretariat,” he adds.

The biography says that on February 1,1977,when Jagjivan Ram was called by Indira,he suggested the lifting of repressive laws,restoring full independence to the media and releasing all those arrested during the Emergency,but she was “not fully convinced”.

“After five-seven minutes of the meeting,Jagjivan Babu returned disappointed,” says the book. After his return from the meeting,he consulted his well-wishers and decided to resign from the party and the government immediately.

The book is also very critical of Indira for her “increasing power-driven ambitions” and “personalised politics” that changed the “basic nationalist character” of the Congress.

When contacted,Sibal said he was not aware of the contents of the book,and had aready clarified in his speech at the book release function that he did not endorse the author’s views regarding Emergency.