Singh alleges that Menon pushes M Chackos name for UN top job
V.K.Krishna Menon, former defence minister and diplomat. (Photo: DC)
Kottayam: Malayali diplomat and former Indian Defence Minister, V.K.Krishna Menon tried to push the names of two Indian diplomats for the coveted post of Secretary General of United Nations, after the demise of Dag Hammarskjold, the then Secretary General in 1961, maintains K. Natwar Singh, former diplomat and foreign minister of India.
In his autobiography, One Life is not Enough which was released a couple of days ago, Singh alleges that Krishna Menon, who was the head of the Indian delegation to the UN, tried to push the name of a junior Malayali Christian UN official, M.Chacko, to the post of UN Secretary General after Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjold, was killed in a plane crash.
“The vacancy caused by the death of Dag Hammarskjold was filled by the gentle Buddhist, U.Thant of Burma. One or two misguided Indian aspirants cut very sorry figures. Krishna Menon was keen for Arthur Lal, one of his favourite Indian Ambassadors, to get the job, but he found no takers, and the proposal was dead the moment it was made. Next, he attempted to push the name of M.Chacko, a Malayali Christian, who held a junior post in the UN. This provoked uninhibited laughter”, writes Singh in his autobiography.
Natwar Singh ridicules Menon by saying that anyone who is acquainted with the functioning of the UN would be aware that the UN General Secretary must come from a small country. Singh also alleges that Krishna Menon without consulting Nehru abstained from voting on a resolution condemning the Soviet Union for use of force in Hungary.
“Krishna Menon made matters worse by stating in the Security Council that events in Hungary were a domestic affair. He went further. On his own, he abstained from voting on a resolution condemning the Soviet Union for the use of force, justifying his actions with an abrasive speech”, Singh adds.
He said that though Krishna Menon took that decision without the consent of the Prime Minister, Nehru stood by Krishna Menon to the displeasure of even senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Adding that “Nehru did no good by defending the indefensible Menon”, Singh criticises Menon for his lapses.
V.K.Krishna Menon, was appointed head of the Indian delegation to the United Nations in 1952 and he continued in that post till1962. Though Deccan Chronicle tried to contact M.Chacko for his comments, he could not be reached.
( Source : dc )
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