Born in 1930, Arjun Singh entered the Madhya Pradesh Assembly in 1957. Only 27 at that time, Mr. Singh was elected as an Independent. Later, he joined the Congress and was re-elected to the assembly on a Congress ticket in 1962.
In 1963, under the Kamaraj plan, the then MP Chief Minister BA Mandloi was removed by Jawaharlal Nehru. He was replaced by DP Mishra, who had been ousted from the Congress when he raised the banner of revolt against Nehru in 1950. After a great deal of persuasion, Nehru allowed DP Mishra to re-enter the Congress, contest a by-election and become the chief minister.
Arjun Singh was given a berth in the DP Mishra ministry. Unfortunately, he was defeated in the 1967 assembly polls but managed to enter the Vidhan Sabha through a by-election. In 1967, the Mishra government was overthrown and SVD (Samyukta Vidhayak Dal) government formed. In 1969, all the 36 Congress defectors returned to the parent party and the Congress rule was restored under the leadership of SC Shukla.
For reasons best known to him, Shukla had an intense dislike for Arjun Singh, and did not include the latter in his ministry. Arjun Singh remained in political wilderness till 1972 when PC Sethi took over as the Chief Minister and gave him a cabinet berth. In 1975, Shukla was again installed as the Chief Minister. And not surprisingly, Shukla did not include Arjun Singh in his ministry.
In 1977, when the Congress was routed almost everywhere in the state, Arjun Singh managed to get elected and was named leader of opposition. He played a dynamic role as the opposition leader and exposed the “misdeeds†of the Janata party ministry headed by VK Saklecha of the “Jana Sanghâ€.
In the 1980 general elections, Congress came back to power and Arjun Singh, despite getting minority votes in the CLP elections, managed to become the Chief Minister with the help of Mr. Sanjay Gandhi. He remained in office for five years and ruled the state with an iron hand, ruthlessly eliminating his rivals in the party and bringing the bureaucracy to its knees by placing its head — the chief secretary — under suspension. The bureaucracy became totally subservient to him. No officer could dare defy his order — right or wrong. He did not allow rules to come in the way of implementation of his orders. “Relaxing all rules, this instruction should be carried out expeditiouslyâ€, was a favourite noting of Arjun Singh on files.
His regime will also be remembered for many achievements. Several pro-poor measures, including granting land ownership rights to slum dwellers, were taken and there was total peace on the communal front. In 1984, he created a sensation by getting the then Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson arrested in Bhopal.
In 1985, he led the party to victory in elections and again became the Chief Minister. But within less than 48 hours of taking over, he was given the marching orders. In a dramatic fashion, he was named Governor of the then terrorism-afflicted Punjab and replaced by Motilal Vora.
In Punjab too, he made his mark by scripting the Rajiv-Longowal accord. He was then brought to Delhi and named Vice President of the Congress. But soon, he developed serious differences with Kamalapati Tripathi, who was the President of the party. Rajiv Gandhi also inducted him into his cabinet and he fought—and won---Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi constituency.
He became the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh for the third time in 1988 but had to quit within less than a year because of the Churhat lottery scam. After Rajiv Gandhi's death, Mr. PV Narasimha Rao took over as the Prime minister. Arjun Singh parted ways with Rao, floating a new political outfit called the Congress (Tiwari).
In 2004, the Congress captured power in the Centre again and Arjun Singh was entrusted with the responsibility of one of the most prestigious ministries—Human Resource Development. His relations with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh can hardly be described as cordial. Because of his ill-health, he could not contribute much to the HRD ministry.
Arjun Singh claims that he has been loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family. During Indira Gandhi's lifetime, he described his loyalty in the following words, “My politics begins at the door of Indiraji and ends thereâ€.
“Bharat Bhavanâ€â€”a multi-arts complex at Bhopal is one his major contributions. He also commanded a strong lobby in the world of Culture. Commenting on his rise on the political horizon, a leading magazine wrote many years back that he could do so through “courtesy, culture and conspiracyâ€. One thing that has helped Arjun Singh grow is his habit of going out of the way to protect and promote his followers. (IPA Service)
Indian National Congress
End of the political road for Arjun Singh?
An era comes to a close in MP politics
L.S. Herdenia - 25-05-2009 11:08 GMT-0000
BHOPAL: With the exclusion of Arjun Singh from the Union ministry, a political career spanning over half-a-century has come to an end.