The new Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, was inaugurated on the Kotla Road in the capital, amidst an unnecessary controversy precipitated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, on why it was not named after Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away recently. It was also the failure of the communication department of the Congress not to adequately project the shifting of the office in the media, given that it was perhaps for the first time in its 140 years history, the party was shifting to the premises which were owned by it. There was no preview or highlighting of the various facilities offered at the Indira Bhawan, something which was unexplainable.
In addition, the current leadership which thrives because it has inherited the legacy of Indira Gandhi, the greatest mass leader of the last century, also did not delve on the historic significance of the new address and structure. For most people who cover politics, the Congress Headquarters is synonymous with 24, Akbar Road, the place where it shifted after the second split of 1978. Between the first split and the second one, the Congress office of the Indira Gandhi faction was located on 5, Rajendra Prasad Road.
In fact, it was at the meeting of the Working Committee of the party then headed by K.Brahmananda Reddy, an appointee of Indira Gandhi, who later joined hands with her detractors like YB Chavan and others, that the former Prime Minister was expelled following high drama. I as a student of Delhi University, was present in the lawns of 5, Rajendra Prasad road, when the drama unfolded. Mohammad Shamim, of the Times of India, who later became my mentor so far as political reporting was concerned, was covering the event and was also seated in the lawn outside soaking the winter sun. Much before the arrival of Indira Gandhi, a hostile atmosphere was sought to be created and a small crowd which had been brought in was already chanting slogans, `Indira Gandhi Murdabad’’. FM Khan, Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka dressed in a red-coloured shirt was standing near the porch with a handful of her supporters, awaiting her arrival.
As Indira Gandhi’s Ambassador drover towards the main entrance of the building after entering the gate, the sloganeering against her gathered momentum. The former Prime Minister while alighting from the vehicle, gave a stern look at the protestors, who suddenly froze and folded their hands as if to welcome her. Her charisma had taken over and she was escorted inside by Khan though it was abundantly clear that she was going to be thrown out of the party that evening.
Rest is history, and some days later, she formed the Congress (I) at a function which amongst others was attended by Kamlapati Tripathi who stood by her at that juncture. Buta Singh was made the sole general secretary and the new chapter in the party’s history had been ushered in with Sanjay Gandhi and his team, on the threshold of taking over the party. The Indira faction later shifted to 24, Akbar Road. However, it is important to point out that during the emergency, Indira Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of the new Headquarters at 3, Raisina Road. In fact, the stone marking this was there for a long time.
This was the place that subsequently was allotted to Jawahar Bhawan which has its entrance now on Rajendra Prasad Marg, opposite the Shastri Bhawan. It needs to be recalled that during the Janata Party period, multiple attempts were made to take over the 3, Raisina Road office but did not succeed and the premises were occupied by a faction of the party which was later opposed to Indira Gandhi, but never allowed others to take over. Supporters of Babu Jagjiwan Ram made an unsuccessful attempt to wrest control and the first working committee meeting of the group led by Sharad Pawar subsequently was also held there.
While the party was in control of Suresh Kalmadi, Pawar’s key lieutenant then, largely because of the efforts of Prem Swarup Nayyar and others, a deal was struck by him and Arun Nehru, who wanted the area for the proposed Jawahar Bhavan. In what is in public domain but could never be substantiated through official sources, the premises were handed over to the Congress (Indira) and in return, Kalmadi was given the Maruti agency for Bombay and some other cities in Maharashtra.
This enabled the construction of the Jawahar Bhawan. The Congress is now to be located at Kotla Road, close to the fleet street, New Delhi’s Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg which was where most newspaper offices were located at one time. It is also near the Headquarters of the BJP and the AAP on the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg. Some Congress supporters are trying to give a spin that to avoid the Marg named after the former Bhartiya Jana Sangh president and Idealogue, the party has its main entrance towards Kotla Marg. Wonder how does the road matter since both these boulevards are in the area once known as the Rouse Avenue.
The Congress has to understand that a change of address does not necessarily signify a change of fortune. It should use the opportunity to focus on making the organization stronger and reconstitute the AICC with lesser number of office bearers than it has now. The party should be effective and not unwieldy and bulky. It needs to be clarified that the Bhawan is named after Indira Gandhi and not Dr Manmohan Singh, who was an icon but had little to do with the party. It is fine if the Library gets his name.
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