Dr Ashok Walia would always be remembered as the honest minister in the Sheila Dikshit government in the capital. This is certainly not to suggest that all other functionaries were corrupt or dishonest but as per the prevalent perception at that time, he was considered to be a man of unimpeachable integrity and values. It was because of this reputation that he enjoyed, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which came to power in the aftermath of the successful Indian Against Corruption movement headed by Anna Hazare, offered a ticket to the medical professional, who had a Nursing Home at Lakshmi Nagar in the trans Yamuna area. Walia was inclined to join the new organisation; he had been given a raw deal by Sheila Dikshit for so many years but declined the offer following pressure from his other East Delhi political colleagues, particularly Arvinder Singh Lovely.
I had a long meeting with him at the ‘Spice Route’, a popular restaurant at the Imperial Hotel, which was one of his favourite eating places, and he discussed his political dilemma at length while highlighting his long commitment to the Congress, a party he owed so much to. Walia stayed in the Congress though he regretted the decision. He had not been keeping well for some time and thus had become incommunicado. He was the only person other than Dikshit, who was a minister for full 15 years in the Congress government from 1998 to 2013. He held the crucial portfolio of finance and had brought certain irregularities to light during the construction of flyovers and other projects for the Commonwealth Games. His pleadings to the High Command were not heeded and instead, he was relieved of his portfolio. The option before him was to either quit or lie low for some time. He decided to stay on and fight from within, without realising that Dikshit’s clout with the Congress leadership was far greater than what he could have ever imagined.
Walia was always considered a dedicated political activist and did his political apprenticeship like most people in Delhi Congress under H.K.L. Bhagat, regarded as “the uncrowned king of Delhi” at one time. It is another matter that he fell out with Bhagat and like Ram Babu Sharma, Lovely, Dr Narendra Nath and many others, decided to carve his own political future. He supported Dikshit though Ram Babu Sharma, who headed the Delhi Congress and the Municipal Corporation, was vehemently opposed to her. After Ram Babu’s passing away, Walia was in the reckoning for being made the DPCC chief, but could never make it given the complex nature of Congress politics; Dikshit was busy promoting her son from East Delhi and did not want any other leader from there to come into the limelight.
A bachelor who often took long trips around the world, he was a quiet, down to earth person. In fact, he was one of the most understated politicians of Delhi. It is extremely unfortunate that he had to go down to Covid-19 and may now remain unsung with the Congress in the wilderness. Dr Walia, you were indeed a good friend, a brilliant politician, an honest man and above all a noble human being. You shall be always missed by your friends.