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Apr 2012

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First Person Singluar

3 Sons of 3 Prime Ministers - Rahul Gandhi, Ajit Singh, Neeraj Shekhar

Aroon Sharma
Jun 2009

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After the UPA-II has justified how to the hilt it has met agenda of 100 days, I expect the three seeds I sowed in mid-May to sprout. The three are for three Members of Parliament - the only three elected to 15th Lok Sabha with a unique common denominator -- their fathers were Prime Ministers of India. More important, the three whom I had interviewed.

On first count, your guess is as good as mine. It’s Rahul Gandhi (Rajiv Gandhi). On second count, your guess may get a slight stretch. Its Ajit Singh (Chaudhary Charan). On third count, your guess could go sink? Its Neeraj Shekhar (Chandra Shekhar). Of the three, I knew Chandra Shekhar the most. He and would often hail me by first name at his home!

In order of easy accessibility, I visualize it would be Neeraj, Ajit and Rahul ! Try I must. Succeed I should. Its not mission interview. It’s to share with the sons, the moments I shared with their fathers. Say, both Rajiv and I sat opposite each other, at the window seat in a coupe in Kalka Mail en route Ayodhaya via Kanpur. It was a Rail Yatra 'connect' with voters.

Each one in the press party was granted 10 minutes each for whatever 'exclusive' one could extract. It was too less a time. I made his Rajiv Gandhi laugh at frivolity of similarities between him and I. “Why window seat, Sir?” I began. The shock of hair he supported was getting tossed about.” Some of you smoke and I am allergic to it”, was his sweet reasonableness.

“Same with me, Sir”, I said and added “passive smoking is avoidable; passive dust is not?” The ice was broken.” Sir”, I continued, “In the short time granted to me I can't get a meaty interview so may I be a little personal

His smile in affirmative rosied his cheeks. “Sir, the First Lady in a democracy should not shy away from media?”

(By then Mrs Sonia Gandhi had granted only ONE interview to a lady editor of a Hindi publication). Said Rajiv referring to Sonia “That's her nature!” I suggested: “One way to make her meet us would be to call us home for tea?” “Done”, he said. “But, Sir, you don't take tea, so?” Once again we shared laughter. His repartee was “I'll serve!”

Eight out of my 10 minutes were over. “My time is up, Sir.But will the future Prime Minister like to ask anything from me?” Our laughter had a roar of sorts. “Plenty!”, he said. “You have the pulse of people!” The invite for tea and tete-e-tete with Mrs Sonia Gandhi was not to come. Midway through electioneering, he was assassinated..

Ajit Singh's father, Choudhary Charan Singh had his courtship with Nehru's Congress and Indira's Congress. He parted ways with the later in 1965, set up Bhartiya Kranti Dal, sought Indira's support to be the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in 1969, parted ways, set up Bharatiya Lok Dal, sought her support again to be the Prime Minister of India in 1979.

I have recalled this to be able to recall to the son that his father was a hawk eyed personage who would pick and choose mediapersons. I could only manage to meet him at his Tughlak Road residence after a bargain with his biographer R.K. Hooda in 1979 that were I to forward his awarded teacher's wife's photograph, he would take me to 'Choudhary Saheb'.

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