“I will commit suicide,” then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had told then Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi in 2012, when the Chief Election Commissioner had expressed his anguish over ministers’ “nonsense” on the functioning of the Election Commission. During this time, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described the Election Commission as not only the pride of India but also the soul of the country’s democracy. This conversation has been mentioned in SY Qureshi’s upcoming book “India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir”. This book has been published by Hachette India.
In his book, Qureshi Manmohan Singh Has been praised as a leader for whom constitutional dignity was not a matter of discussion, but a living belief.
According to PTI News, the former Chief Election Commissioner mentioned that during an election in Uttar Pradesh in January 2012, the then Law Minister Salman Khurshid had promised at a rally that if his party came to power, it would increase the quota for Muslims in jobs from 4.5 percent to 9 percent.
Congress leaders were targeting the Election Commission
Complaint filed regarding election promise of Salman Khurshid. The former Chief Election Commissioner writes, “We held hearings for four days. Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of Congress and Arun Jaitley on behalf of BJP presented their views on what are the limits of promises during election campaign?
Qureshi writes that ultimately, we condemned Khurshid, which was the most stringent action under the election code of conduct. Qureshi was the Chief Election Commissioner from July 30, 2010 to June 10, 2012.
He further writes that Khurshid was clearly upset by the condemnation from the Election Commissioner, and soon, voices began to be raised in the Congress that the commission had become “arrogant or arbitrary”. Qureshi says in the book, “Criticism never bothers me; gestures that reduce institutional credibility bother me. These light remarks were not acceptable.”
And Manmohan Singh became emotional
Qureshi recalls that around that time, he hosted his annual Eid open house and among the guests was Harish Khare, the then press secretary to the Prime Minister. During this I told my complaint. Harish asked, ‘Should I tell the Prime Minister?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ “The next day, the RAX (Restricted Access Exchange) phone rang.
A voice came from there, ‘The Prime Minister wants to talk to you urgently.’ After some time, Dr. Manmohan Singh came on the line, his voice was restless, he said, ‘Qureshi ji, can I meet you urgently?’ From the sound it seemed that he might come to me. I said, ‘Sir, you are the Prime Minister, I will come whenever you say. We fixed the time for 7 pm,’
Qureshi reached the Prime Minister’s house that evening. Dr. Singh was found waiting for him at the door. He took me inside and, before we could even settle down, he said in a real sad voice that Harish Khare told him what you said? If you think so, he will commit suicide.
Manmohan had said this about the Election Commission
Qureshi recalled, “I was silent. My point was about the behavior of some ministers, not about him.” He wrote, “Manmohan Singh continuously praised the Election Commission. He called it the ‘pride of India’ and our soft power.” “The thought that he could even think for a moment that I doubted his intentions was unbearable for him. It took him a few minutes to calm down.
He said, ‘I had no idea at all.’ ‘If I had known, I would have reprimanded him. If you ever have something to say, just pick up the phone and call me’,”
He wrote, “Then he (Singh) said something I have never forgotten: ‘The Election Commission is not just the pride of India; it is the soul of our democracy. If we lose it, we lose everything.'”
Revelation in Qureshi’s new book
Qureshi said that he was moved not by politics but by meeting a “leader for whom constitutional propriety was not a talking point but a living belief.” He further writes, “I shared these things with TKA Nair, his Principal Secretary, and Shivshankar Menon, his National Security Advisor, and Harish also talked about this with our common friends. None of us considered it a secret; it was a very important glimpse of the character of the man leading our country.”
Qureshi said that after the meeting the gestures stopped and talks were held peacefully, and there was no need to do anything more. He said, “I have met many powerful people in my life, but very few took power so lightly, or felt its weight so deeply. In a profession where the thick-skinned are rewarded, Dr. Manmohan Singh stood out for a unique sensitivity in the use of power.
In this collection of 100 interesting stories from his life, Qureshi recounts the events, difficulties and unexpected turns that made his career in the civil services special.
Read this also- These 5 decisions taken during Manmohan Singh’s government, which changed the country’s economy and destiny
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