Opinion | ‘In Pursuit of Democracy’: Sonia, Kesri and the Battle For Congress – News18

Last Updated:December 09, 2024, 23:08 IST

In her yet-to-be-released memoir, Najma Heptulla alleges that since 1998, when Sonia Gandhi donned the party mantle, too many layers of people have sprung up between the rank and file and the leader

In Sonia Gandhi-led Congress, ‘direct communication’ between the then AICC chief and party leaders was cut off, leading to the decline of the Grand Old Party. Junior-level Congress functionaries, clerks and other staff systematically locked all access to the leader, affecting organisational health and ethics, compromising both harmony and productivity of the party members, says Najma Heptulla who had spent over three decades in the Congress before switching over to the BJP in 2014.

In her yet-to-be-released memoir, In Pursuit of Democracy: Beyond Party Lines (Rupa Publications), Najma who served as AICC general secretary, party spokesperson, Rajya Sabha deputy chairperson, Union minister and governor (during the Narendra Modi-led era), alleged that since 1998, when Sonia Gandhi donned the party mantle, far too many layers of people sprung up between the rank and file and the leader. That was the problem with 10 Janpath.

“As Congress followers, we no longer had an active role in providing feedback to our leader — so critical for a party to perform well. There was little interaction based on the quality of our exchanges, little understanding of who were part of our leader’s in-groups or out-groups or even how to support our leader’s vision. The decline started then. Our leader’s (read Sonia Gandhi) behaviour was counter to the best practices and principles of collaboration that had evolved in the Congress over many decades,” she writes.

Najma goes on to illustrate an example in her autobiography: “I witnessed one such event with Sitaram Kesri, who was unanimously elected as President of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) in 1997. One day, when I was waiting for Sonia in the lobby at 10 Janpath, he came in and was also asked to wait.”

She claims Kesri was made to wait for a long time forcing him to lose his temper. She quotes him as saying, ‘I am Treasurer of the party and not any ordinary member. She is Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. We have not come here to exchange pleasantries, but have serious issues to discuss. And we are made to wait like this?’

When Kesri left after feeling humiliated, Najma said she remembered how Vasantdada Patil had quit the party when Makhan Lal Fotedar had humiliated him during the Indira Gandhi era.

She, however, makes it a point to absolve Sonia’s personal aide in 1998 — Vincent George, long-time private secretary — describing him as a “good natured person”, who understood that the relationship between leaders and followers depended on mutual respect, trust, support, and could potentially make or break political parties. George was subsequently removed amid the rise of Ambika Soni and Ahmed Patel in Sonia’s court.

Najma, when writing about her days in the BJP and NDA parivar, becomes less candid. On May 27, 2014, she became Union minister, a cherished portfolio that had remained a dream when she was in the Congress and UPA (United Progressive Alliance) was in power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi inducted her as the minister of minority affairs.

“I was one of three women — along with Sushma Swaraj as minister of external affairs and minister of overseas Indian affairs, and Nirmala Sitharaman as minister of commerce and industry — who took oath in his cabinet, along with him. And I remained in the post for just two years, until July 2017,” she writes.

Her silence on incidents of mob lynching and cow vigilantism during 2014-2017 appears intentional and politically motivated. She goes on to offer details of the 2011 Census, the percentage of minorities in the country and how she was focused towards issues relating to the notified minority communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis (Zoroastrians) and Jains.

Sample this: “Although Muslims constituted about 14.2 per cent of the population, I noticed that they were in the grip of a vicious cycle of poor education, unemployment, social isolation, poverty and poor life satisfaction. What could be the way out of this crisis? The only real-life, positive stories that shone amidst the gloom-ridden community were that of Muslim coaching institutes, namely the Association of Muslim Doctors, the Talent Zone Academy, Rahmani 30, the Shaheen Group and the Al-Ameen Mission. They were guiding students successfully in the fields of medicine and engineering by helping them develop the skills and knowledge they needed to succeed in competitive exams. I realized that guidance and training were the felt needs of the community and launched a number of skill development schemes for the youths, including girls. The aim was to empower them for sustainable livelihoods in the organized sector and ensure a successful future. For girls, I started training programmes in traditional arts and crafts, so that they would not face destitution in the face of livelihood disruptions.”

As minister of minorities affairs, Najma noticed that a large section of minority children, especially in the Muslim community, either dropped out of school or did not enrol in the formal school system.

“I felt that it was essential to have programmes that would empower such children to join the national mainstream, compete at par and grow. Hence, I launched Nai Manzil (new horizons) in 2015–16 to provide them with both formal education (Class VIII or X) and skill training. Dr Arvind Mayaram, Secretary to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, was of great help. Coming from the Ministry of Finance, he brought with him long-standing associations with institutions like the World Bank. He worked tirelessly with his team, so that we could launch Nai Manzil as a central scheme in record time, with 50 per cent funding from the World Bank. Starting with an initial outlay of `600 crore, it became a resounding success—benefitting over 100,000 youth from 20 states today. The World Bank recommended this initiative to other countries with similar requirements,” she writes.

She then turned her attention towards madrasas — centres of religious education. “I suggested that they should also teach Hindi and English, not just Urdu. I pointed out that Prophet Muhammad had once said, ‘Seek knowledge even if it be in China, for the seeking of knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim’, which clearly means that Islam accords very high importance to other schools of knowledge. I asked why they wouldn’t follow this teaching and provide the youth with skills that could help them earn a better living. They agreed. I then connected with two central universities—Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University — to start bridge courses for madrassa-trained students, including girls, to prepare them for the civil services and other competitive exams. At my request, senior bureaucrats started taking classes in these universities,” she writes.

Najma points at Parsis, a micro minority with a population of only 57,264 people. “Despite their diminishing numbers, Parsis, however, did not suffer from socioeconomic and educational backwardness. It was an extremely talented community, with a glorious history. It has contributed immensely to the building of modern India, especially in the fields of industry, entrepreneurship, education, science, sports, arts, music, culture and philanthropy. I felt an infusion of fresh blood was desperately needed and launched a range of campaigns and exhibitions to promote childbirth in the community, track their history and contribution and raise awareness about the community’s dwindling numbers,” she writes.

As the minister for minority affairs, she took pride in holding a first-of-its-kind international exhibition, ‘The Everlasting Flame’. From March 19 to May 29, 2016, three unique exhibitions were organised in Delhi tracing 3,000 years of Zoroastrian history through artefacts — from the imperial Iranian-Zoroastrian legacy to the modern times, through textiles, jewellery, sculptures, coins and various manuscripts, many of which were loaned by 15 museums across the world, including Syria and Iran.

These museums had never loaned manuscripts to India in the past. Therefore, it took a lot of convincing for them to agree to do so. The exhibitions were a grand success, and they allowed the ministry of minority affairs to be internationally visible, she writes with a degree of satisfaction.

Najma also launched the ‘Jiyo Parsi’ scheme to arrest, reverse and stabilise the declining trend of the population by adopting scientific protocol and structured interventions. The scheme had three components: under the medical component, financial assistance was provided to Parsi couples for childbirth treatments following standard medical protocols; under the healthcare component, financial support was provided to Parsi couples for childcare and assistance of the elderly; under the advocacy component, outreach efforts were taken up to generate awareness in the Parsi community on their declining numbers.

“I found out from the ministry that since the inception of the Jiyo Parsi scheme, 403 babies had been born (as on 31.12.2022),” she says. This is perhaps her major achievement as the minister for minority affairs.

(The author 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 those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views)