You couldn’t help but admire ABV

BK Goswami

THE incident relates to the dark days of Emergency. I was then the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi. Vajpayeeji was under detention at Windsor Place, New Delhi. One afternoon during the winter of 1976, I was sitting in my Tis Hazari office when I got a call from Ms Kaul, his friend and companion, saying that Vajpayeeji needed immediate medical aid. She suggested that he should be shifted to AIIMS. There was panic in her voice.

I immediately sent for then ADM, Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, and directed her to escort him to AIIMS in her official car. I also rang up the AIIMS Director, Dr Safaya, requesting him to take particular care of Vajpayeeji, as even though under detention, he was one of the tallest leaders and enormously popular among people. 

Learning about Vajpayeeji’s illness, the Central government lost nerve and ordered his release. 

After about a fortnight, I received another call from Ms Kaul that he wanted to come personally to thank me. Those were the days when any contact with Opposition leaders, whether telephonic or otherwise, would have invited the wrath of the government. I told her that I had received his thanks and he need not take the trouble to come over. I was told that he insisted that he would like to come and personally thank me. I said he was welcome to Tis Hazari. 

I rang up then Lt Governor, Kishan Chand, over RAX phone and narrated the gist of my conversation with Ms Kaul. I also informed the Lt Governor that I would receive Vajpayeeji and offer him a cup of coffee. The next day, Vajpayeeji came over, accompanied by Ms Kaul. As usual, he was full of grace, wit and charm. The detention had not dampened his innate zest for life. He was cracking jokes while sipping coffee.

In another instance, I was adviser to the Governor of UP in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition. One evening in December 1992, I got a message from the police that an Indian Airlines plane had been hijacked at the Lucknow airport and the hijacker, who was allegedly carrying a bomb in his handbag, had threatened to blow up the plane unless Vajpayee came to meet him. 

The airport authorities had taken precaution to park the plane in one corner of the airport. Fortunately, Vajpayeeji, who represented the Lucknow constituency in Parliament at the time, was in Lucknow. When he learnt about the ‘hijack’ he rushed to the airport. He was advised by the police and local leaders, particularly Lalji Tandon, against boarding the plane as it could pose a danger to his life. Vajpayeeji’s reply was, ‘My life is not more precious than those already on board.’ He boarded the plane. The hijacker fell at his feet and that was the end of the hijack. That was Vajpayeeji — quintessentially fearless and public-spirited.