When the PM offered the police station officer a bribe of 35 rupees: How Chaudhary Charan Singh detained Indira and became prime minister for five months
It's around 1979. At the Usrahar police station in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, things were going on as usual. An old farmer arrived at that moment. His bull has been taken; he informed the first officer as soon as he walked into the police station. The soldier ignored what he had to say. The inspector was contacted by that farmer, who reiterated what I said. Although the inspector did not write the report, they did listen to the entire case.
The farmer began to walk out of the police station, disappointed. Then, a soldier remarked, "Baba, make an offering; the work will be done," as he stood outside. Once again, the farmer entered the police station. The report was written following discussions and after accepting a Rs. 35 payment.
The clerk asked the farmer, "Baba, tell me whether you will sign or put your thumb impression," after he had finished completing the report. The farmer said, "Signature." Subsequently, the farmer removed a stamp from his pocket and placed it on that piece of paper. The seal bore the words "Prime Minister, Government of India." The fifth prime minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, was the one who showed up disguised as a farmer.
I am going to share anecdotes about the life and ascent to power of Chaudhary Charan Singh in the fifth installment of I Am India's PM series.
Morarji's administration collapsed during the power struggle.
The Emergency fostered a climate so hostile to the Congress that Indira Gandhi lost the Rae Bareli seat in the 1977 elections by roughly 50,000 votes. Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira, lost his seat in Amethi and turned into a monster as a result of forced sterilization. There are now only 189 seats in Congress.
Following the election victory of the Janata Party alliance, which included opposition leaders, three candidates for prime minister surfaced: Morarji Desai, Jagjivan Ram, and Chaudhary Charan Singh. The fourth episode of this series tells the story of Morarji Desai, who eventually rose to the position of Prime Minister.
The Home Ministry was assigned to Charan Singh, but he was not pleased with the choice. In a few months, there was internal conflict. It was Charan Singh's dream to sit in the prime minister's chair. He had dubbed Desai the Prime Minister of Do Nothing. He expressed dissatisfaction with Desai's decision-making style. He doesn't think that other cabinet leaders' opinions are necessary. The public has begun to learn of the two's differences through the political corridors.
In his book "India After Gandhi," historian Ramchandra Guha states that throughout the disagreements, Charan Singh leveled numerous accusations against Desai's son, Kanti Desai. Desai was already not pleased with Chaudhary Charan Singh's actions. His wrath grew as a result of the accusations made against his son, and in 1978, he dismissed Charan Singh from his government.
A massive farmers' rally was arranged by Charan Singh as a gesture of support. Being a farmer leader, he attracted a sizable crowd to the demonstration. The public's outrage forced the administration to backtrack and reinstate Charan Singh in the cabinet out of fear.
Charan Singh rejoined the cabinet and was appointed the nation's deputy prime minister. In addition, he assumed leadership of the Finance Ministry's operations. On the other hand, Babu Jagjivan Ram was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister in consideration of the Dalit vote bank. The nation had two Deputy Prime Ministers at the same time, for the first time ever.
During the monsoon session of Parliament in July 1979, a no-confidence vote was brought against the Janata Party. Along with his MPs, Charan Singh rebelled and stopped receiving assistance from the administration. Under these circumstances, Morarji Desai was forced to step down as prime minister.
Although Charan Singh's party had 48 members of parliament, a minimum of 50% of the Lok Sabha's members must agree to form a government, with the prime minister serving as the head of state. There were 189 seats in Congress. Opposition members held 227 seats. In contrast, Bharatiya Lok Dal, the party of Charan Singh, only held 48 seats. In order to form the Janata Party, which defeated Congress, Bharatiya Lok Dal, Jan Sangh, Congress (O), and the Socialist Party joined forces. The Janata Party received enough votes in this election to take the lead.
This time, the Morarji government's deputy prime minister, Charan Singh, did not want this. He was determined not to lose the opportunity to become PM.
In the meantime, Indira's Congress, which had been defeated in the Lok Sabha polls, extended an offer to back Charan Singh's faction. Charan Singh consented, and on July 28, 1979, he was sworn in as the nation's fifth prime minister.
He remarked to the journalist, What's wrong with wanting to be prime minister?
Formerly serving as Morarji Desai's cabinet law minister was Shanti Bhushan. In his memoirs, "Courting Destiny," he states, "A cabinet committee was established in 1978 to make sure that the elections were free and fair." The other members of this committee were Pratap Chandra Chander, Lal Krishna Advani, and Charan Singh.
Charan Singh arrived somewhat belatedly to the committee meeting. He began explaining to the reporters why he had arrived late. He was questioned by a journalist: "You seem very prepared to become prime minister!" What is wrong with wanting to be prime minister? Charan Singh asked angrily.
In his book "India After Gandhi," historian Ramchandra Guha discusses how home minister Charan Singh, who aspired to be prime minister, rose to prominence by serving as Morarji Desai's cabinet's second in command. weren't ready to take on this task right away.
He believed that he would rise to prominence in politics if he was able to have Indira Gandhi jailed on suspicion of declaring a state of emergency. People will talk about him, he will get attention, and the public will view him as daring.
Author and journalist Kuldeep Nayyar also brought up Charan Singh's suggestion to punish Indira in his book "Ek Zindagi Kafi Nahin." Chaudhary Charan Singh was a dear friend of Kuldeep Nayyar.
"I used to meet the then-Home Minister Charan Singh two or three times a month," the author says. There was a divide between Morarji Desai and Charan Singh when the Janata government was sworn in. The government and the party were impacted by this. Regarding the appointment of a commission to look into the excesses of the emergency, they were likewise at odds.
Morarji Desai had noted in the file that Indira Gandhi and her party had received a fitting punishment from the people of the nation through their defeat. This did not satisfy Charan Singh. He desired an Indira case. Eventually, he was able to persuade the authorities to accept his argument.
In actuality, Charan Singh grouped himself with every cabinet minister in the government. They all began pressuring Prime Minister Morarji Desai to convict Indira Gandhi, in addition to forming a commission.
Therefore, it was decided to detain Indira Gandhi on suspicion of crimes committed during the emergency as a result of Charan Singh and of corrupt practices in relation to the procurement of jeeps used in the campaign.
Because of his wife, Indira's arrest date was altered from Charan Singh's.
In actuality, Indira Gandhi campaigned for the Lok Sabha election after the emergency by using 100 jeeps that she had paid for with public funds. As a result, it was determined to place Indira under arrest for corruption. October 1 was set as the date of his arrest. Gayatri Devi, the spouse of Charan Singh, requested that the date of arrest be changed as soon as she learned of this.
According to Gayatri Devi, October 1st is a Saturday. Given that it is Sunday and a difficult day for a woman, Indira will not be granted bail if she is detained on this particular day. I concur with his wife, Charan Singh, orders to reschedule the arrest for October 2.
Former Intelligence Bureau DIG Vijay Karan suggests detaining him on October 2. He claims that if he is taken into custody by Gandhi Jayanti, the conversation will shift to another topic. October 3rd is a great day for this project.
Charan Singh thought this was appropriate. He gives the CBI director a call on October 2, which directs Indira's arrest. Indira Gandhi was therefore taken into custody on October 3.
He initially disagreed with Indira before winning her backing to become PM.
Only with the backing of the Congress and CPI was Chaudhary Charan Singh able to take office as prime minister on July 28, 1979. By August 20, the then-President Sanjiva Reddy offered her an opportunity to demonstrate her majority in the Lok Sabha, but on August 19, Indira withdrew her support and overthrew the government. He continued to serve as acting PM after this.
News that Indira had appointed Charan Singh as prime minister had already been reported by the then-'Himmat' magazine, but she had insisted on holding midterm elections. Indira is aware that if elections are held, she will benefit more.
The journal reported that Indira Gandhi had an opportunity to exact revenge and make her point. He stipulated that Charan Singh's lawsuits against Congressmen that he had brought while serving as a minister in the Morarji administration had to be dropped.
Chaudhary Charan Singh could not accept this condition. He was forced to step down. In the same way, he was limited to serving as PM from July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980.
The tenure of Chaudhary Charan Singh as Prime Minister was limited to five and a half months. He was unable to attend Parliament during this time because there was not a session. He became the only Prime Minister of India to do so without having to address Parliament.
He had just one Sherwani while serving as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.
Two terms as Uttar Pradesh's chief minister have been held by Charan Singh. In his book "Ek Aur Kabir," author Rajendra Singh describes a Sherwani event that happened to him. In 1967, Chaudhary Charan Singh took office as Uttar Pradesh's first chief minister.
Up until then, he possessed just a single woolen sherwani. It was torn in one place and quite old. He sent the sherwani to be damned since he detested unnecessary spending.
The tailor requested that he return later when one of his staff members went to fetch the sherwani a few days later. After a few days, the personnel returned and then left again. Once more, the tailor declined to offer it. The staff became enraged, questioned the true reason, and threatened him.
The tailor reported that he was unable to locate the sherwani and that it was misplaced. Though the employees were aware that Charan Singh disliked irresponsibility, the issue needed to be brought up.
Charan Singh stated, "No problem, he made a mistake," after hearing the entire story. The tailor is destitute, and nobody will speak to him. I shall purchase a new sherwani under this pretext, then.
Up until 1978, Charan Singh wore the brand-new sherwani he had constructed.