Former Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad, who launched his own party in J&K last year, has argued the Kamaraj Plan prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru implemented in 1963 ‘marked the beginning’ of the ‘weakening’ of Congress. In his book, Azad, An Autobiography, Azad said the Kamraj Plan started replacement of powerful party leaders with nominated ones who were beholden to the Congress high command and the party across the country experienced the domino effect of the decision for decades to come.

“The first brick from the fort that was the Congress was removed with the implementation of the Kamaraj Plan, thus initiating the weakening of the party. In 1963, veteran Congress leader and the CM of erstwhile state of Madras, K Kamaraj ji, advised prime minister Nehru to seek the resignation of senior party leaders from Union ministry and chief ministers post and direct them to devote time to the organisation. It had a greater impact at state levels where many popular mass-based CMs, including Biju Patnaik, SK Patil, Pratap Singh Kairon, Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad quit. Kamaraj also quit. But this exit of stalwarts cost the Congress party heavily in the states. Even in Tamil Nadu, the party lost the assembly election in 1967 and facilitated the rise to power of the first regional party under CK Annadurai,” Azad said in his book.

“Six ministers, including Lal Bahadur Shastri, Jagjivan Ram and Morarji Desai, also tendered their resignations. I do not recall many of them being actually drafted for party work although Kamaraj did become the All India president of the party. I fail to understand, to this day, what the real motive behind the Kamaraj Plan was,” the book said.

Azad said that later he discussed the issue with a senior Congress leader, a former Indian President with a photographic memory. “It was only after a great deal of persuasion that he told me the real reason behind the Kamaraj Plan. I was shocked by his answer. However, it is a secret that I will take to the grave with me…Unfortunately, for the party, after the Kamaraj Plan, ‘the appointment’ system of CMs came into being. Once CMs were made to resign as per Kamaraj Plan, they were replaced by nominated leaders, who were more beholden to the high command than to voters and grassroots workers of the party. The election of the leaders became a mere formality. The domino effect of that decision was to be felt across the country for the party for decades to come.”

On crisis of Congress

“The free fall is depressing also because there has been no serious attempt to check the decline…The lament today is that Congress has no leaders who have a pan-India appeal. The dearth is because the party has abandoned the system of elections to the top positions and earmarked the post for one or two individuals. This system precludes the emergence of new national leaders in the party…the loss of position is what the nominated leaders dread the most, which is why they are happy with status quo.”

On Sonia tenureSonia Gandhi’s over 20-year stint as Congress president was a departure from the party’s (pre-1978) tradition of having new faces in the top post thus encouraging aspirations of leaders and regions. He recounted his talk with Sonia Gandhi, in the presence of Sharad Pawar and AK Antony, when she sought time to decide on CWC’s plea to take over as Congress president the first time. “I then asked Sonia Ji what the problem was she said she wanted time to think. I asked her how much time she needed, she said ‘six months.’ We would not wait for six months since the CWC meeting was on and we had to decide immediately, I pointed out. ‘First tell me, madam, are you willing to join politics?’ I asked. She answered in the affirmative but stuck to the six-months period. ‘Six months is a long time in politics,’ I told her. I added, ‘there is a vacancy now and that vacancy might not exist six months later. It is possible that some competent person could become the party chief and may not be amenable to relinquishing the post for you six months down the line. You have to decide, it is now or never, timing is of great essence in politics.’ After about five minutes she looked up and said she was ready to take on the mantle.”

Rahul and Himanta Exit

“The evening before we were to proceed to Assam, Rahul, who had not been in the loop of deliberation so far, telephoned me with a request to cancel the visit to Assam. Instead he asked me to visit his home the next morning along with the general secretary in charge of Assam. When we arrived at Rahul’s residence the next morning, we saw Tarun Gogoi and his son Gaurav Gogoi sitting with Rahul. Rahul told us bluntly that there would be no change of leadership.” Azad said he pointed out to him Himanta had support of majority MLAs who would rebel and quit the party. “‘Let him go,’ Rahul said. After our interaction with Rahul, I met Sonia Ji and apprised her of the new twist in the tale. Despite understanding the disastrous consequence that lay ahead, it is rather unfortunate that she did not assert herself as the party president.”

Abrogation of Article 370

When all Congress RS MPs, led by him, sat in the Well of the House against the Bill for abrogating Article 370, Jairam Ramesh refused to join them, Azad said. Five Congress MPs who spoke in Parliament against abrogation of Article 370 – Azad, Anand Sharma Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and ShashiTharoor – belonged to G23. He lamented Congress leadership had now stopped talking about restoration of Article 370 despite a CWC resolution against its abrogation.