A disquieting string of disclosures on politics
By his own account, KC Singh proves he’s betrayed the high ethical standards of his profession and also endangered India’s democracy in his new memoir
The fun of reading a memoir lies in what it reveals. It could be a deliberate indiscretion, an astonishing admission or simply details you weren’t aware of. But I’ve never come across one that amounts to willful self-incrimination. In this case, by his own account, the author proves he’s betrayed the high ethical standards expected of his profession but also, more worryingly, deliberately endangered India’s democracy.
I’m referring to KC Singh’s account of the Zail Singh years called The Indian President. He was the former president’s deputy secretary from 1983 to 1987. During this period, willingly and deliberately, he played a significant role in conspiracies to convince Zail Singh to dismiss Rajiv Gandhi. KC Singh defiantly writes: “My crossover from being an advisor to playing the political game was a factor of my temperament.” Of his behaviour in 1987, he says: “I had by this stage got deeply involved in the political drama… for me, the events of the past four years coalesced into cold defiance of the Rajiv Gandhi regime.”
The details of his role in assisting VC Shukla to convince Zail Singh to dismiss Gandhi are astonishing. “Sometime in late 1985, when Shukla had come to see the president, I was called in and told that I would provide the channel of communication between the two. This obviated the need for Shukla to come to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, as his visits were likely to put the Intelligence Bureau sleuths on high alert. He was clearly told that whatever I conveyed had the president’s authority.”
In March 1987, after Congress’s defeat in West Bengal and Ashok Sen’s resignation as law minister, KC Singh wrote: “VC Shukla asked me with great excitement to convince the President to act promptly. The President should dismiss the Prime Minister and, in his place, Ashok Sen should be sworn-in … Shukla was adamant that once Rajiv was sacked, his support would collapse.”
Shukla and Sen arrived at his residence “to have me take them in my car to Rashtrapati Bhavan. I took them in my… peacock blue fiat”. A month later he was their chauffeur again. This time they were taken “crunched in the back seat of the fiat”.
KC Singh even attempted to turn Arjun Singh against Rajiv Gandhi, he wrote. “This was a crucial Lakshmana rekha that I was now crossing. It was no longer the grey zone in which I had so far functioned. I abandoned caution as the desire was overpowering to see what could be done to widen the cracks in the Congress.”
On this occasion, however, KC Singh’s enthusiasm led him into a trap. A batchmate, Surinder Sidhu, “suggested Arjun Singh was keen to meet (him)… I… believed that even a wily politician like Arjun Singh would not use the channel of a batchmate to deceive me.” He was mistaken.
“Arjun Singh gave me his direct telephone line for contacting in future, and I gave him a number that only rang in my room.” Even though KC Singh realised after the first meeting that Arjun Singh was “playing” him, he had two more. He still tried to convince him to turn against Gandhi. “I argue(d) that Rajiv Gandhi’s successive electoral losses in four states now and the corruption cloud of Bofors was creating a demand for accountability.”
There’s more — including an encounter with Kanshi Ram — but I think I’ve recounted enough. What I can’t fathom — indeed, it befuddles me — is why KC Singh is determined to reveal all of this. He must know it can only diminish his reputation as a civil servant. Worse, it’s proof he conspired against a popularly elected prime minister. And it also suggests he doesn’t know when to be discreet and shut up. Or could it be the readership he has in mind is the present government? With their aversion to the Gandhis, it’s possible they could warm to this sorry tale and, even, applaud its author.
Karan Thapar is the author of Devil’s Advocate: The Untold Story
The views expressed are personal
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