Arjun pledges for loyalty test

Vikash Ranjan

New Delhi

Mon, 12 May 2008: 

Realisation of his mistakes could sideline him from his own Congress party in perpetuity, the loyalist Union Minister for Human Resources and Development Arjun Singh immediately within 24 hrs after he overlooked by the Congress high command Sonia Gandhi sought to buy peace on Sunday with her.

In a press atement issued on Sunday he said he was needlessly being involved in controversies, which was irrelevant and by pledging loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family he said: “I would like to put it on record that when I met Pandit Jawaharlal Nehruji in March 1960, I pledged my total loyalty to him and his family.

For the past 48 years of my life, I have scrupulously adhered to it.” He also committed to do everything to the Nehru-Gandhi family till the end of his life.

In his endless effort to putting rest on the controversy arises out of his 'inner-party democracy’ and 'loyalty' remarks, he said, “I have no desire to join issue with anyone on this matter and I respect the views of all my colleagues who have thought it proper to comment on it and this chapter is closed now as far as I am concerned.”

This is the second time within a month when Arjun Singh's statement for showing undue loyalty to the Jawaharlal Nehru's descendent has brought him in trouble. First, his suggestion about Rahul Gandhi as the face of the party for the post of prime minister for the next Lok Sabha elections had been viewed by the Congress as an act of sycophancy and now his remarks against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been viewed by his colleagues as an utter disrespect to the party high command.

In an interview at the occasion of releasing a book on him, “Mohi Kahan Vishram” (No rest for me) published by Dr K L Nanadanji last Friday, the HRD Minister again sparked the controversy by questioning the decision making process in the party. He claimed that the decision-making process in the party was better in the Indira-Sanjay Gandhi days and further said the evaluation of loyalty in the party was being done in a narrow context.

The very next day at a University convocation ceremony in New Delhi, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi completely ignored him and did not talk a bit despite they shared the dais for almost two hours.

Snubbing episode by the Congress high command forced him to accept his mistakes publicly which resulted into the press statements issued by him Sunday, where he said the controversial remarks made by him on the decision making process was a “closed chapter” on his part.

The HRD Minister also tried to put rest on the controversies arising out of book “Mohi Kahan Vishram” by saying that the book was a compilation of articles written by different people about me. As far as my autobiography is concerned I am still writing on it, which will be published in near future, he said.

Two recent comments issued by the two leaders of Congress- Akhilesh Das and Arjun Singh have given a signal that everything is not going right in the party. Akhilesh Das resigned from the Congress party last week alleging coterie around Rahul Gandhi. Das alleged that Rahul's influence in the decision making process may create bi-polarisation of the party resulting into alteration in the existing power equations, which may be advantageous for some leaders, while for some it may be blow. So, he said, he had no option but to leave the party. Das, later joined the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).