OVER STORIES CBRAJESH MISHRA PRAMOD PUSHKARNA The Sangh, key ministers and NDA allies hold the principal secretary responsible for the crisis in the Government. Yet, he enjoys Vajpayee’s trust. The inside story. ■ by Prabhu CHAWLA RAJESH MISHRA LOVES PRESS CONFER- ences and there was more than a trace of the usual imperiousness on his face as he strutted into Delhi’s Shastri Bhavan last week. The rele- vant and irrelevant sections of the Prime Minis- ter’s Office (PMO) in tow,the 72-year-old principal Bsecretarytotheprimeministerwasn’tinanexplainingmood. His bulbous eyes gleaming defiantly, jaw jutting out and lips curled in a half sneer, Mishra was not just addressing the press, he was taking them on. Furious at the accusations lev- elledathimaftertheTehelka.comtapesshooktheGovernment, he wasn’t protesting his innocence, he was asserting it. Few politicians would have got away with such pugnacity. ButMishradid.Notmerelybecausehewassureof hisfactsbut because he had the full backing of the prime minister.His mes- sage was simple and forthright: I will stay as long as the prime ministertellsmeto;Iwillgoif itstrengthenshishands.Theun- statedtheme—IremainindispensabletoAtal BihariVajpayee. Then,beforethestunnedhackscouldrecovertheircomposure, Mishra walked off, in triumph. Itcouldwellbethebravadoof amaneffectinghislaststand. But Mishra, frankly,couldn’t give a damn. At the best of times he is cocky and adversity doesn’t change him much. If Vajpa- yee represents the benign face of the Government, Mishra epitomises its raw abrasiveness. For a man who has been a dip- lomat for 34 years, there is nothing diplomatic about Mishra. Asprincipalsecretary,nationalsecurityadviser,thespecial envoy to France for strategic dialogue and member of count- less committees established by the prime minister, Mishra is arguably one of three most powerful individuals in the NDA The Importance Government. Some would say the most powerful. No other principal secretary—not even the redoubtable P.N. Haksar who served Indira Gandhi—has acquired such an awesome profile or been at the centre of such controversy. Last week, Mishra was not only targeted by the Opposition but also by sections of the Government and the Sangh Parivar. of Being RSS chief K.S. Sudarshan called for “competent” people to be appointed to the PMO; two Samata Party MPs tried to link the party’s return to the Government with Mishra’s removal; and Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna wanted both Mishra and Offi- ceronSpecialDuty(OSD)N.K.Singhsacked.Manycabinetmin- isters met Vajpayee and, without specifically seeking Mishra’s removal, urged him to take a serious look at his office. The disorientation in the ranks was understandable. Since he joined the PMO on March 19, 1998 as Vajpayee’s personal nominee,Mishrahassethisownrules: thathewon’tbeyetan- BRAJESH other faceless bureaucrat. He is the voice of a prime minister who, despite his legendary communication skills, has inex- plicably lost his voice. Mishra doesn’t merely speak for the PMO, he speaks for the prime minister. Somewhere along the line, Vajpayee allowed the two to become indistinguishable. Mishra first made it so on May 11, 1998, by being the only manintheGovernmenttoaddressthemediaafterthePokhran blasts. According to the PMO, he did it on Vajpayee’s instruc- ALTER EGO: Mishra virtually makes up tions. It set the tone of an uninterrupted innings that has di- MISHRA Vajpayee’s mind for him on major issues vided the Government, strained Vajpayee’s relations with his partyandtheSanghParivar,andcreatedanimageproblemfor INDIA TODAY ♦ APRIL 2, 2001 OVER STORIES CBRAJESH MISHRA COURTESY HT ON AND OFF AGAINST FOR L.K. ADVANI RAM VILAS PASWAN THE RECORD Home Minister Communications Minister Resents Mishra’s open inter- Mishra has backed him on BRAJESH MISHRA’S CV ference in security matters. policy shifts like telecom. Age: 72 JASWANT SINGH PRAMOD MAHAJAN 1951: Joins the IFS. Is sent to Cambridge University as a trainee. Foreign Minister Parliamentary Affairs Minister Believes Mishra torpedoed Had Mishra’s backing on all 1951: Returns to India and joins the his foreign policy initiatives. administrative matters. Pakistan desk in the MEA. 1957-60: Works in Indian missions K.S. SUDARSHAN R. BHATTACHARYA in Rangoon and Brussels. RSS chief PM’s foster son-in-law Thinks Mishra Is totally depen- 1960-64: Deputy secretary, HQ. represents MNCs. dent on “uncle”. 1964-69: Deputy permanent represen- tative in Indian mission to the UN. Y. SINHA M.M. JOSHI 1969-73: Charge d’Affaires, Indian Finance Minister HRD Minister Embassy, Beijing. Mishra posted key He inducted 1973-77: Permanent representative officers in ministry. Mishra into BJP. to the UN, Geneva. G. FERNANDES S. YADAV 1977-79: Indira Gandhi shunts him Ex-defence minister Aviation Minister out as ambassador to Jakarta. Dislikes Mishra’s Took Mishra’s help 1979-81: Foreign minister A.B. Vaj- parallel HQ. to fight Fernandes. payee appoints him permanent representative to the UN. 1987: Retires from service. Principal secretary National PM’s special 1991: Joins BJP, appointed convener of the party’s foreign affairs cell. coordinates with security envoy on foreign 1998: Becomes principal secretary to all ministries adviser affairs Prime Minister Vajpayee. Graphic by YOGESH CHAUDHARY ishra hasn’t made the PMO WOESOME TWOSOME: Mishra (left) is the one-man super-MEA with Ranjan Bhattacharya, Vajpayee’s foster son-in-law. PAST PRINCIPAL SECRETARIES M and with Singh’s induction economic policy too is under the PMO Mishra is the principal secretary but in an act of Brahmanical the expert body it should be. bonding,hehasalsobecomeapartof theVajpayeehousehold. P.C. ALEXANDER 1981-1985 He has brought in largely middling taken full advantage of Vajpayee’s introvert and laidback per- No one questions Mishra’s loyalty to Vajpayee or his in- Served both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as sonality and has gradually usurped his public role. He has be- tegrity.NoristhereanydoubtthatbyfreeingVajpayeefromde- principal secretary.In mid-1985, he was forced to officials who play second fiddle. come the public face of the Government. Since Vajpayee rarely tails, he leaves him free to focus on the big picture. But there is resign after it was discovered that two members speaks his mind in official meetings, it is Mishra who makes up a perception he also exploits Vajpayee’s trust to ram through of his personal staff were involved in a spy ring. the prime minister’s mind on crucial issues. Says a senior cab- an agenda that is at variance with the collective wisdom of the the Government. Powerful Union ministers, including Home inet minister: “Sometimes we get the impression it is Brajesh, Government.Seniorministersaremiffedthathekeepsthemin B.G. DESHMUKH 1985-1990 Minister L.K. Advani, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Ex- not the prime minister who has the final say.” the dark even on subjects relating to their own ministries. Among the most durable of senior bureaucrats, ternal Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and NDA convener and That’s not an inaccurate assessment. If Vajpayee doesn’t Jaswant has been most affected by this unilateralism. He he served under three prime ministers—Rajiv, former defence minister George Fernandes have at various knowhowtosayno,Mishraisincapableof takingnoforanan- and Mishra have strong disagreements on key issues involving V.P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar. Resigned in times let their displeasure with Mishra be known to Vajpayee. swer.He has definite views that he insists others must endorse. India’s relationship with the US and China. Officials have wit- 1990, a month before he was due to retire. It hasn’t made an iota of difference. An unmoved prime If there is resistance, he does the next best thing—take charge nessed verbal exchanges between the two in Vajpayee’s pres- minister has let it be known he would rather quit than suc- himself by riding roughshod over departmental niceties. ence. During the prime minister’s visit to the US last year, A.N. VERMA 1991-1996 cumbtopressuresforMishra’sremoval.Hehasharpedonhis Jaswant wasn’t shown the texts of his speeches. It was only af- Wielded awesome power during P.V. Narasimha unfettered right to choose his personal staff, a principle no T is this cockiness that is at the heart of an ongoing tus- ter Jaswant made an issue of it that Vajpayee asked Mishra to Rao’s tenure. Vetted his boss’ appointments and onecanfault.Unwillingtopresshomethepoint,Mishra’sde- sle between two parivars: the Sangh Parivar and the send the speeches to him before they were finalised. was known to keep even ministers waiting for tractors have effected a tactical retreat. But once the din of prime minister’s parivar. Mishra hasn’t been able to es- The problem is Mishra considers foreign affairs to be his days for a meeting with Rao. Economic czar. the Tehelka scandal recedes, the issue is certain to reappear. tablish a comfortable relationship with the majority of own turf. He has got Vajpayee to reverse diplomatic appoint- Why does Mishra invite such hostility? The answer lies in cabinet ministers. His former colleagues in the BJP have ments made by Jaswant. Recently, it was decided that SATISH CHANDRA 1996-1997 his overweening desire to grab the limelight, so far the prero- Istopped dealing with him because he has been insensitive to N.K. Singh would be sent to Canada as high commissioner. As chief secretary of Karnataka, he had a good gative of elected politicians. Mishra is the only principal secre- their compulsions and denied them access to their leader. But within 24 hours of Jaswant leaving on a foreign tour, rapport with chief minister H.D. Deve Gowda. tarywhocan’tresistmediaglare.Helovesappearingon TV talk Yet, his position remains secure. What is the reason? Mishraorderedthefiletobekeptinabeyance.Previously,there Known for his integrity and honesty, he shifted to shows and holding forth on subjects ranging from economic The uncharitable version is that Mishra has been able to weredifferencesbetweenthetwooverthechoiceof India’sam- South Block when Deve Gowda moved to Delhi. reforms to nuclear diplomacy.After becoming principal secre- feed on Vajpayee’s sense of vulnerability.