NEW DELHI: If ever there were any doubts the rally and the Prime Minister’s 100-minute speech dispelled them once and for all that the sole purpose of the estimated Rs 10-crore exercise was to establish Narasimha Rao as the supreme Ieaders and place him in the pantheon of all time Congress greats

The message was conveyed repeatedly First by the manner in which the dais had been constructed and the dignitaries seated then by the songs of noted playback singer Mahendra Kapoor and Last but by no means the least by the tenor of Rao’s speech

There were between 70 and 80 senior Congress leaders including PGG chiefs Ministers CWC members and Legislature Party leaders on the dais But the Prime Minister did not sit at their level facing the sweltering heat with them as would have been expected of a first among equals He liter ally stood above them his special bullet-proof air-conditioned Enclosure having been constricted more than six feet above the dais The Prime Minister’s ministerial colleagues wilted in hot humid conditions repeatedly mopping their brow fanning themselves with whatever they could lay their hands on some even using scorching sun Rao was on the other hand as cool as a cucumber (His image is unique his identity a class apart) crooned Mahendra Kapoor-driving home the message clearly Including his colleagues) of the great debate which raged during Jawaharlal Nehru’s time After Nehru who  Shouldn’t there be a debate on “After Rao Who?” he asked deftly placing himself along the tallest Congress states man and making it clear that the others could stake claim to his position only after he had finished his job

In his philosophical style he spoke of the transient nature of human life the presence of Shiva the destroyer along with Brahma and Vishnu He dismissed suggestions that he would continue as the leader for the next 10 to 20 years Was he suggesting that it would be only after his death that a new claimant could emerge? One was not sure

He drew a companion with Nehru when he reminded people how Jawaharlal ji used to directly report the performance of his Government to them

Now that they were here they Should judge his performance think about it for a full year before deciding on which party to note in the next election he told the audience This should be the “year of thinking” he added

There was an inherent snub for second-ranking party leaders

Often I am told to fake action against squabbling leaders If i take action there will be very few who would be left Those who are squabbling are not young people They belong to the age groupofs0 to 70 and have served the country for more than 25 years”

The speech portrayed Mr Rao as an elderly statesman and a scholar who had remained unaffected by success but he successfully brought back the supreme leader Syndrome in the Congress a syndrome which had been carried right through Gandhi to Nehru to Indira to Rajiv

Article extracted from this publication >> July 22, 1994