Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Death Anniversary: When Bahuguna came to meet Indira Gandhi with his son in Delhi, at that time the whole group including Bansi Lal was present which was against Indira Gandhi’s resignation in any condition.
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna did not consider it necessary to give clarification after the allegations.
Bahuguna ji, what have you done? The then Defense Minister Bansi Lal had taunted the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna after the Allahabad High Court’s decision to cancel Indira Gandhi’s election to the Lok Sabha. After this decision, Bahuguna had asked his son Vijay Bahuguna, who was then practicing in the High Court, to reach Delhi with a copy of the decision.
When Bahuguna came to Delhi to meet Indira Gandhi with his son, the whole group including Bansi Lal was present which was against Indira Gandhi’s resignation from the post of Prime Minister under any circumstances.
The anti-lobby of Bahuguna ji was already engaged in filling the ears of Indira Gandhi. The decision of the High Court has completed what was left undone. Bansilal said, “Had it been in our Haryana, how would Indira Gandhi have been defeated? The restrained Bahuguna ji’s answer was deadly, “That’s why the Prime Minister is from Allahabad and the Chief Minister from Haryana. We never interfere in the judicial process. ,
Indira Gandhi was advised to resign
Bahuguna was one of those leaders who actively supported Indira Gandhi in 1969 on the occasion of historic split of Congress. In 1971, he was made a minister at the Center. On 8 November 1973, he took over as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time. In 1974, the Congress was once again successful in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections. Bahuguna took oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the second time on 5 March 1974.
It is obvious that this was the period when he had full confidence of Indira Gandhi. But in the next few days, the internal equations of the party started changing. Sanjay Gandhi was rising. Bahuguna’s habit of not tolerating undue interference in administrative work was increasing the number of his opponents within the Congress.
He also angered Sanjay Gandhi. His opposition lobby was active from Lucknow to Delhi. After the High Court verdict, Bahuguna was among those leaders who advised Indira Gandhi to resign and hand over the charge to her trusted Sardar Swaran Singh for a few days.
Yashpal Kapoor thrown out of state guest house
One of the reasons for his distance from Indira Gandhi was the 1974 Rajya Sabha elections in which industrialist K.K. Birla was defeated. In this election, the MLAs had enough votes to elect eight members of the Congress from Uttar Pradesh. There were also some additional votes. With the consent of Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, industrialist K.K. Birla nominated as the ninth candidate.
Yashpal Kapoor, Indira Gandhi’s representative, camped at the State Guest House in Lucknow to garner additional votes in favor of Birla. A displeased Bahuguna requested Indira Gandhi to include him in the party’s list of eight candidates if she wanted to ensure Birla’s victory. Indira Gandhi’s answer was negative.
On the other hand, the buying and selling of votes of Yashpal Kapoor was going on. Bahuguna asked him to vacate the government guest house. Kapoor ignored it. Bahuguna took his belongings out of the guest house and gave a message that he will not tolerate anyone’s interference in the state.
That defeat of KK Birla in the Rajya Sabha elections!
Bahuguna openly opposed Birla in this election. Along with the ruling party, he also appealed to the opposition to defeat him. Bahuguna conducted open polling. Yashpal Kapoor’s objection was rejected in this regard. Birla was defeated in the election. Discussing this election in his autobiography, KK Birla has written, “Sanjay suggested that I contest from Uttar Pradesh. He spoke to Indira Gandhi and she promised that her party’s sympathies would be with me.
He sent Yashpal Kapoor to Lucknow. My victory was sure because I had the support of Chandrabhanu Gupta and the opposition as well. But one thing did not come to my attention, that was Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna’s opposition. I knew him since 1960. I have never met a more cunning politician than him. He was my staunch opponent.
Birla’s defeat angered Sanjay-Indira
After the defeat, Birla met Sanjay Gandhi and Indira Gandhi in Delhi. Said, “If the Chief Minister had to betray the leader of the party then what was the point of proposing me to stand in the election!” Sanjay consoles him. Said that his mother trusted Bahuguna but he cheated. Sanjay was very angry.
Indira Gandhi was also unhappy with Bahuguna. She said that she has not only played pranks on you but also cheated me. Sanjay was determined. Sanjay and Indira Gandhi never forgave Bahuguna for this deception. Carefree Bahuguna did not understand the need for any clarification.
Every order of Sanjay Gandhi was ignored
In reality, during that time every step of Bahuguna was taking him away from Indira-Sanjay. Bahuguna transferred the District Magistrate of Indira Gandhi’s constituency Rae Bareilly. Sanjay Gandhi asked to stop the transfer. Bahuguna refused saying that it would send a wrong message to others. Bahuguna was not ready to accept any extra-constitutional authority.
On one hand, Sanjay Gandhi was becoming increasingly influential and the Congress governments from the center to the states were bowing before him, while on the other hand, Bahuguna was ignoring him. Sanjay Gandhi was very angry with him. Gradually it became the displeasure of Indira Gandhi.
And JP was given the status of state guest
Bahuguna did not stop here. They were continuously moving on the path contrary to the will of the leadership. JP’s entire revolution movement was a boom. This movement passing through Gujarat, Bihar was getting expansion in other parts of the country. Not only the Congress governments of the state, the central government was also on target. There was a direct confrontation between JP and Indira Gandhi. On the other hand, Chief Minister Bahuguna, who reached Uttar Pradesh, made JP stay in the Raj Bhavan by giving him the status of a state guest.
According to supporters, Bahuguna had a lot of respect for JP, the leading hero of the freedom struggle. Another aspect of this was that by keeping JP soft, he wanted to stop the intensity of his movement in Uttar Pradesh. Whatever may have been the motive of Bahuguna. All his decisions as Chief Minister decided his departure. He resigned on 29 November 1975.
