THE wheel has turned a full circle. Refusing to play along with Narasimha Raos divide-and-rule tactics, N.D. Tiwari stayed away from the parent party for 19 months under the aegis of the Congress (T). But he didnt hesitate to return to the party fold once it became evident that Rao was not calling the shots.
In a series of meetings with top-rung leaders, including Pawar, Karunakaran, Antony and even Kesri, Tiwari insisted that he would rejoin only if the Congress admitted his party and not just Arjun Singh and himself.
To be fair on Rao, he had sent a string of feelers to Tiwari to woo him back but in vain. The erstwhile Congress president had even assured Tiwari a plum position. The last offer was made in January, a week beforeclaim Tiwari supportershe was "framed" in the hawala case. B.P. Maurya, the general secretary who was recently sacked by Kesri, had at least five round of meetings with Tiwari to lure him back.
Consider the sops: Tiwari would be included in the CWC as well as in the cabinet with the defence portfolio. But he declined both offers, and even refused to meet the then prime minister. Rao did speak to him onceto apologise for a slip. Tiwari hadnt been invited to a Rao family wedding.
But everything changed after Tiwaris name figured in the hawala scam. "The countrys prospective defence minister has been implicated in a fabricated case, closely monitored and directed by Rao," Tiwari is said to have told his aides.
In fact, Tiwari has been a victim of Raos oneupmanship many times. In 1991, soon after Rao took over as prime minister, his political adviser Jitendra Prasada approached him with an offer that he (Tiwari) should accept the chairmanship of the Finance Commission. Prasada said the post would go to K.C. Pant, a Tiwari rival, if he refused. Tiwari told Prasada to convey to Rao that he would be only too happy if Pant got the post. And he got it. Prasada did resist Tiwaris entry this time, but it was overruled.
Asked how he would work under Rao, Tiwari quipped: "Rao may be the CPP leader but Kesri is his president and he has to toe the party line. There is no convention of parallel power centres in the Congress."
