A day before Narasimha Rao’s swearing in, Manmohan got a call…
When Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991, he had become an expert on many things. He had previously handled the ministries of health and education. He had also been the Foreign Minister. He was tight in only one department and that was the Finance Ministry. Two days before he became the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra had given him an 8-page note, in which it was told that the economic condition of India was very bad.
Narasimha Rao asked his biggest advisor at that time, PC Alexander, whether he could suggest the name of a person who was acceptable at the international level for the Finance Minister. Alexander suggested him the name of IG Patel, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and director of the London School of Economics. IG Patel did not want to come to Delhi, as his mother was ill and he was in Vadodara.
Then Alexander himself took the name of Manmohan Singh. Alexander called Manmohan Singh a day before the swearing-in ceremony. He was sleeping at that time because he had returned from abroad only a few hours ago. When he was woken up and told about this offer, he did not believe it.
That’s why the budget of 1991 is considered historical
In 1991, while being the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government, Manmohan Singh made important announcements related to Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization in the budget, which gave a new impetus to India’s economy. Due to this, changes were made in the rules and regulations related to trade policy, industrial licensing, banking sector reforms and permission of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.
This is how Manmohan’s name came in 2004
In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, Congress formed the UPA alliance and formed the government with several parties. Sonia Gandhi entered politics in 1998 and was heading the party in 2004. In the opinion poll of Lok Sabha elections, BJP was predicted to get two-third majority. BJP was confident of victory. When the results came, BJP had fallen from 182 seats to 138 seats. Congress increased from 114 to 145 seats. However, there was uncertainty about who would become the PM.Natwar Singh, who was the Foreign Minister in the UPA government, writes in his book ‘One Life is Not Enough’
‘At that time the Gandhi family was in a dilemma. Rahul told his mother that she would not become PM. Rahul was ready to do anything to stop his mother. There were loud conversations between mother and son. Rahul was afraid that if his mother became PM, he too would be killed like his grandmother and father.Natwar writes, ‘Rahul was very angry. At that time I, Manmohan Singh and Priyanka were there. The matter escalated when Rahul said that mother, I am giving you 24 hours time. You decide what to do? It was impossible for the tearful mother (Sonia) to ignore Rahul’s words.
In 2004, Rahul was adamant that he would not allow mother Sonia Gandhi to become PM.On the morning of 18 May 2004, Sonia Gandhi woke up early in the morning. She quietly walked out of the house with Rahul and Priyanka. Sonia’s car reached Rajiv Gandhi’s mausoleum. All three remained sitting in front of the mausoleum for some time.
On the same day, a meeting of Congress MPs was held in the Central Hall of Parliament at 7 pm. Sonia Gandhi looked at Rahul and Priyanka and said – My aim has never been to become Prime Minister. I always thought that if I ever came to that situation, I would listen to my conscience. Today that voice says that I should not accept this post with all humility.
After this, for two hours the Congress MPs kept trying to convince Sonia to become the PM, but failed. Meanwhile, an MP from UP said, ‘Madam, you have set an example, as Mahatma Gandhi had done earlier. After independence, when the government was formed for the first time in the country, Gandhiji also refused to join the government. Then Gandhiji had Nehru. Where is Nehru now?
Sonia knew that she had a trump card and that was Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh’s name was announced for the post of Prime Minister in the Congress Parliamentary Party meeting. Former President APJ Abdul Kalam wrote in the book ‘Turning Points: A Journey Through Challenges’ that after the victory of UPA, Rashtrapati Bhavan had also prepared a letter regarding making Sonia Gandhi the Prime Minister, but when Sonia Gandhi met him and Dr. Manmohan When Singh’s name was brought forward, he was astonished. Later the letter had to be prepared again. Manmohan Singh held the post of Prime Minister from 22 May 2004 to 26 May 2014.
In 2009, Rahul had said- I do not want to become PM.
UPA got 262 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Once again a period of speculation started regarding the name of the Prime Minister. Rahul Gandhi’s name was raised in political circles. Senior journalist Veer Sanghvi writes in his book A Rude Life: The Memoir – Manmohan Singh was not ready to become PM for the second time. He had put a condition before Sonia that he would take up the post again only when he gets a chance to complete his tenure as Prime Minister.
After this Rahul assured him that he had no desire to become the Prime Minister. After this, Manmohan again took over as Prime Minister (22 May 2009- 26 May 2014).
Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister of India after Jawaharlal Nehru, who got the opportunity to become the PM for the second consecutive time after completing a tenure of 5 years.
One thought on “Manmohan Singh Political Journey Manmohan Singh is no more: As Finance Minister, he brought liberalization in the country, Narasimha Rao had said – If we succeed, credit goes to both of us, if we fail, it is your responsibility.”