Jaswant Singh, 1938-2020I was greatly saddened to hear of the demise of Jaswant Singh. He was a valued colleague, both in government and the party to which we both belonged and of which he was a founding member. A thorough gentleman and an upright army officer, Jaswant Singh was also an astute diplomat and a superb administrator. He was a great parliamentarian who acquitted himself with great distinction.When I joined public life, he was already in politics, but we were in two different parties. Our names were phonetically similar, which often created confusion and comic situations. In fact, on the day of his demise, a journalist from a news channel called me and said that “Jaswant Sinha” had expired and wanted me to record a message of condolence. There were others who thought I had passed away. I remember, once Ramakrishna Hegde, who was Karnataka chief minister at the time, convened a meeting of leaders from opposition parties and I also received a message to attend the meeting, though we both belonged to the Janata Party. I reached Karnataka Bhawan, only to realise that there had been a mix-up when Hegde, very politely, enquired about Jaswant Singh.We became close colleagues when I entered Rajya Sabha in 1988. Once when the Janata Party and BJP decided to form an alliance in Rajasthan for an assembly election, we worked closely, and accommodatively, to finalise a seat-sharing formula in record time. He was an honest negotiator. In Rajya Sabha, we newcomers would carefully observe how persuasively he articulated his views. His command over both Hindi and English was superb, though many people thought him a ‘pucca brown saheb’. He also had a unique sense of humour. Commenting on an inconsequential tax proposal, during a discussion on the finance bill, he once said: “This is not even good enough to buy me a bottle of whiskey”..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}When I joined the BJP, I realised Jaswant Singh was an important leader in the party. During meetings, he used to share the dais with Vajpayee, Advani and Rajmata Scindia of Gwalior. He would generally be entrusted with the responsibility to draft the political resolution while I handled the economic resolution. We often exchanged notes. In May 1998, when he was deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, India carried out the nuclear tests in Pokhran. I was also taken into confidence by Vajpayee, but I was not aware of the exact date of the tests. One day, I got a call from Jaswant Singh asking if I could come to 5, Race Course Road for an important meeting. “Has it happened?” I blurted out. He didn’t respond. It was a top-secret operation and one was not supposed to utter a word about it. We met. The note Vajpayee read out to the media and the letter sent to then US President Bill Clinton were both drafted at this meeting.Most of the powerful nations of the world, including the US, did not take kindly to this development. They imposed economic sanctions, and politically India was considered a pariah. The task of making the world understand our case was entrusted to Jaswant Singh. His engagement with Strobe Talbott, then US deputy secretary of state, is now history. It created the foundation for a constructive dialogue with the US on nuclear and other issues and marked the beginning of a new phase in our relationship.In 2000, when President Clinton visited India, it was the culmination of the extensive work Jaswant Singh had done on presenting India’s case to the global community. His expertise in strategic affairs, security issues and foreign policy was utilised when he drafted India’s nuclear doctrine. Even when we were in opposition, he determined the BJP’s position on the nuclear deal and the civil liability law.In 2014, during the last session of the Lok Sabha, while having coffee with him and Murli Manohar Joshi in the Central Hall of Parliament, I said I wouldn’t contest another election to return to the ‘Golghar’. Jaswant Singh, on the other hand, said the people of Barmer wanted him to contest one last time, but he was denied a ticket. This hurt him deeply. In 2009, after his book on Jinnah, he was expelled from the party in the most unceremonious fashion. After a year or so, he expressed his desire to return. I conveyed this to Advaniji, who met him and cleared the way; I was happy about my bit role. But the denial of a party ticket in 2014 and the pain of becoming inconsequential in a party where he was once pivotal made him extremely unhappy.The country should not forget the stellar contribution Jaswant Singh made to build a new India.As told to Anilesh S. MahajanPublished By: Iram Ara IbrahimPublished On: Oct 3, 2020--- ENDS ---
