New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday dismissed as “canard” that late president A.P.J Abdul Kalam had reservations about swearing-in Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister after the UPA won the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
“I think this is a canard which was being spread. There is no truth in that. Kalam never questioned who will be the person who he will swear-in.“That (who will be the Prime Minister) was the privilege, even in our Constitution, of the party or person who claims majority support. Anything that was said (about Gandhi), I think would not be true. These canards that were spread that he had hesitation in swearing in Mrs Gandhi... was never discussed in my presence,” he said in a television interview.
Asked about the speculations in this regard on the Internet then that Kalam had asked for Ms Gandhi’s passport and other details, Mr Singh said “It is all rubbish.” Mr Singh said that Kalam, who had sworn-in him as Prime Minister, was aware of the developments in the Congress and the UPA in the run-up to the government formation then.
Reminiscing his association with Kalam, Mr Singh said he had an excellent relationship with him when both were in office. “He trusted me and I respected him enormously. This was a relationship of which I was a great beneficiary,” he said.
“As a President, he was a great friend, adviser and philosopher. I had spent the happiest moments in his company probably because we hailed from the same academic background,” he said. Mr Singh also credited Kalam for persuading the Samajwadi Party to support the Indo-US nuclear deal which it was opposing earlier.
The former PM said he had suggested the SP leadership to meet Kalam on the issue and after meeting him the party decided to support it. “They went to see Abdul Kalam and he told them that this deal is in national interest and that meant the SP was on board and we won the vote of confidence in Parliament,” he said.
Mr Singh said Kalam played a “great role” in ensuring that the nuclear deal went through in the Parliament. When asked whether Kalam wanted to visit Gujarat in August 2002, just weeks after he took over the high office and that then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was reluctant he should do so, Mr Singh did not give a direct reply.
“I am not privy to the conversation between Prime Minister Vajpayee and the President relating to Gujarat riots. But communal harmony being one of the founding principles of our sacred republic was something he talked about to me and said it is a heritage we must preserve.”
“He often spoke to me. But he did not cross the limits in giving public expressions to his feelings on some of the issues,” he said on being asked about Kalam’s concern.
