by Sree Iyer
With an absolute majority, Hasmukh had the leeway to pick members of his cabinet as well as direct the future of the party. There were no compulsions from coalition partners that he had to deal with, although the party decided to form the government with its pre-poll allies.
The media and the people could only speculate, while Hasmukh and Kapil had the most unconventional choices on their lists for the cabinet as well. This had made it difficult for the media, and for the Lutyens cabal to know whether or not their interests would be protected. Both Hasmukh and Kapil were the ultimate outsiders who were determined to rock this lobby’s boat.
But while the duo was secretive, the person they used as an interface with the media and the various cabals, was not. Prafulla Prakash, was an ultimate Delhi insider, having been a public figure in Delhi for several years. When he set up practice as a lawyer, PP (initials that he hated to be called by) quickly found out that there were two ways to win cases — one to work hard, dig out the facts and run bare-knuckled battles. The other was to manipulate the system by using wine, women and wealth. He did fall back on the unscrupulous means sometimes in combination with his seasoned skills. He was sharp, knowledgeable, well-informed and held admirable legal acumen.
Prakash had shared a long association with Hasmukh and offered his legal advice on various occasions during Hasmukh’s chief ministership. In course of time, the two drew close and even became friends. Later on, PP was among the first leaders of People’s Voice to suggest and vehemently back Hasmukh’s name as the prime ministerial candidate. It was only natural that once the ‘outsider’ Hasmukh became Prime Minister, PP would once again be his legal guide. It only helped to be closely associated with Kapil as well, whom he had helped with invaluable advice too.
Nothing seemed odd when Hasmukh gave PP a major say in the selection of ministerial candidates. PP made full use of this trust, eventually securing two important ministries — Finance and Defence — for himself. It was an untenable arrangement, and PP was ‘persuaded’ to give up Defence.
The new Defence Minister had the reputation of being both squeaky clean and decisive. He sprung to action with his assignment at the centre, immediately. Until then, he was content being the Chief Minister of his home state, Goa.
Efficient with his work from the beginning, he began to uncover a number of inconsistencies in defence purchases from the tenure of the Freedom Party. He short-listed dubious deals and clamped down on corrupt officials involved in arms procurements. A number of influential people got rubbed the wrong way, taking their sob stories to the one person who listened to them with sympathy — Prafulla Prakash. PP was the ultimate networker and his politics for years had centred on the motto of ‘Live and let live.’ The ‘victims’ were confident that with his influence over the Prime Minister, they could be bailed out.
But PP had other problems brewing in his own backyard that needed to be addressed. Prime Minister Jadeja had ordered a clampdown on the access that various lobbyists (this also included sections of the media) had to critical departments of the government, more particularly those related to defence, finance, commerce and environment. These were the areas of PP’s influence despite being out of office. He had been representing a number of industrial groups and activists for a while now. His influence was intact even during the previous government’s regime. Now that he was a cabinet minister himself, it was weird that he couldn’t get his ‘friends’ access.
In the good old days, the lobby had not just access to the government’s decision-making process but could also influence important decisions and legislations. All those privileges had gone flying out of the window with Prime Minister Jadeja’s arrival. PP was deeply impacted but he put up a brave face. He also began to secretly devise ways to bring pressure upon Hasmukh while keeping himself out of the picture.
Negative stories began appearing in a section of the media controlled by a particular industrialist, who had lost access to the corridors of power in the changed political environment. These news reports were unsparingly critical of the Prime Minister and his lieutenant Kapil Pandya. Most of that material was pure fiction but that didn’t matter since the idea was to throw muck and run.
The social media, however, took up the challenge and effectively began countering the falsehoods. All the same, the mainstream media’s narrative did have the desirable impact, since the Prime Minister turned to PP for guidance. PP extracted his pound of flesh, advising Hasmukh on a range of issues with hidden personal agendas. This advice was taken in full faith and turned out disastrous for the party. It lost mandate across a bunch of states in the assembly elections that followed. The People’s Voice was suddenly on the back foot, which was a complete reversal of its fortune from just a few months ago. The Freedom Party didn’t miss the opportunity to pounce on the Prime Minister and his team in parliament and outside. They had a field day exploiting the falsehoods that were spread about both Hasmukh and Kapil.
The opposition, led by the Freedom Party, began to rake up stray incidents of violence against members of the minority community, presenting them as part of a devious plan by the ruling dispensation to abuse the minorities. The vandalisation of churches by miscreants was projected as an attack on the Christian community, and the lynching of some suspected cattle-smugglers was touted to be violence against Muslims. The orchestrated campaign was picked up by sections of the international media, which lost no time in demonising the Jadeja government and branding it anti-minority.
However, PP remained influential. He got his way in the appointment of a new Governor to the Reserve Bank of India in place of the incumbent one who had refused to toe his line. There were murmurs that the new appointee was close to the former Finance Minister, Maida Damodaran, and also a confidant of PP. This was not surprising, because PP had not only retained but also promoted a number of bureaucrats in the Finance Ministry who were considered having been close to officials from the earlier government. He also continued to exert influence in other ways. For instance, when Prime Minister Jadeja’s ministry was expanded, he managed to take on board a number of his protégés.
If the Prime Minister was aware of PP’s shenanigans, he did not disclose them. But in his own way, he worked to downsize his influential minister, by bringing in his trusted associates in key positions. One such appointment was that of a retired Indian Police Service official as the National Security Advisor (NSA). Amarnath Verma had had a distinguished service track record and considered one of the best sleuths the country had produced. He had conducted several daring operations, often crossing enemy lines to obtain critical information. Hasmukh had the knack to recognise potential in people and promptly took him on board as the NSA.
Amarnath also brought about a paradigm shift in the country’s security narrative. For the first time ever since the war of 1971, Indian forces not only crossed the Line of Control into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, but also targeted terror camps deep inside Pakistan. The troika of the Prime Minister, the party chief and the NSA had effectively taken over key policymaking, leaving PP pretty much out of the equation.
Behind the closed doors of the Prime Minister’s office, his close-knit team worked with him to also lay the foundation for another path-breaking move — the revocation of the seven-decade old Article 370 that had provided Jammu and Kashmir special status and which was responsible for its alienation from the rest of the country. Another new narrative was crafted: The government of India would henceforth discuss with Pakistan only the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which needed to be integrated into the Indian Union. There would be no more discussions on Jammu and Kashmir as it was an integral part of India like the other states. And that was final.
CHAPTER 23.
The Demonetisation Sledgehammer
Prime Minister Jadeja was turning out to be the sort to deliver surprise after unguessable surprise with his governance so far. But this one was nothing short of a shocker for everyone – the cabinet, the opposition, the media, the people.
In a television address to the nation one evening, the Prime Minister announced that all Rs.500 and Rs.1000 notes, from the stroke of midnight that day, would become demonetised. The idea was to deliver a bloody blow to the proliferating black money economy in the country. The impact was like an earthquake reverberating through trade, commerce, the stock market (that nosedived like never before), banking, foreign investment – the list was long.
A couple of days later, Chennakesavan Krishnan (aka CK) was still on the edge of his chair. CK had encountered many challenges in his life, but this was unique. The Prime Minister had summoned him to South Block to craft a strategy on effectively implementing demonetisation. CK was among the very few whom the Prime Minister had taken into confidence before announcing the demonetisation move.
Even the President of India had not been informed, let alone the cabinet of ministers. PP felt especially let down. As Finance Minister and one of the Prime Minister’s closest associates, he had expected to be taken into confidence. This was another indication that he was being sidelined. He had secretly become a subject of ridicule, with his friend and former Finance Minister, Maida, taunting him at being kept in the dark. Maida would not miss an opportunity to take a dig at PP to also provoke him to respond in a way that would embarrass the Prime Minister. But PP was a seasoned player and refused to take the bait. Instead, he quickly settled into the task of implementing the decision — something that Hasmukh expected him to do. This way, at least, he could still be seen as someone in the inner circle.
The problem was that he was offering reasons why demonetisation could not be implemented effectively while the Prime Minister was looking for solutions to his radical move. CK was not an admirer of the Finance Minister and had expressed disappointment over the not so effective measures the finance ministry had taken to revive the economy left in shambles by the previous regime. CK believed, given the huge mandate the Prime Minister had received, his government ought to take dramatic and transformational steps. In private, Hasmukh agreed with him, but could not bring himself to tick off his Finance Minister who had stood by him in times of trouble.
CK’s involvement had (expectedly) not gone down well with PP. But there was little he could do except to grin and bear. PP was determined to place as many obstacles as he could in CK’s way, if only to discredit his efforts.
CK was a chartered accountant by training with an eye for seeing the magic in numbers and reading between the lines of financial documents. He was now pushing seventy, but even in his twenties, he was advising people in high-profile positions on financial matters. He combined the qualities of a financial wizard and a perceptive lawyer with argumentative skills. Over the decades, CK became the toast of the seminar circuit, flying from one part of the country to the other, delivering talks on politico-economic matters. He was paid handsomely for his effort too. But he could also hold forth intelligently on civilizational-cultural issues, embarking with ease on India’s glorious past, its ancient texts etc. As if all this was not enough, he was a journalist too, editing a well-circulated regional language weekly known for its straightforward attacks and satirical wit. Besides, he wrote regularly on current affairs for various prestigious dailies.
CK was an admirer of Hasmukh right since the time that Hasmukh had taken over as Gujarat’s Chief Minister. There was buzz that CK would be contesting as a candidate of People’s Voice from a constituency in southern India. But he immediately snuffed all speculation, pointing out (with wry humour) that he was too outspoken to fit in. After Hasmukh became the Prime Minister, he offered CK a berth in the cabinet and assured him that he would be made a member of the Rajya Sabha. CK politely declined the offer but told the Prime Minister that he would be available for any other service that he could offer. And now, his expertise and experience were called upon to prepare a roadmap for the successful implementation of demonetisation.
He was also among the very small number of people who knew that Hasmukh’s real objective behind demonetisation was to flush out counterfeit currency and strike at the biggies who had enjoyed protection under the Freedom Party’s rule. It suited CK fine, because he had been a trenchant critic of the former Finance Minister, who, he was convinced, was involved too. CK had also collected voluminous material on Maida’s other deals, including illegal clearances from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board and his role in the spectrum scam. He was waiting for more skeletons to tumble out. His only reservation was that the current Finance Minister, PP, appeared less than keen to put his old friends in the dock.
Meanwhile, the Intelligence Bureau led by Mike had begun to brief the Prime Minister on everything to do with the counterfeit currency menace. FCIN entered India through cooperative banks, post offices situated along the borders, IPL betting-and-spot fixing payoff money, and through Nepal and Bangladesh along the porous borders. Over a series of such briefings, Mike was amazed by the Prime Minister’s ability to swiftly grasp the essentials and act as rapidly on the best course of action.
For instance, a decision was taken to suspend the licences of certain cooperative banks that were suspected to harbour counterfeit currency. Among them were banks in Kerala that the bicycle puncture repairer Imtiaz and the electrician Mir had accounts in. The Reserve Bank of India worked overtime to shortlist such banks. Besides their licences being suspended, they were also notified that they could not convert the existing cash in their vaults into new notes. Owners and patrons of these banks - mostly politicians - rose in protest, accusing the government of political interference in the affairs of independent banks. They claimed that the government wanted to arm-twist them because they happened to be speaking out against its “communal” agenda. They ensured the mainstream media picked up this narrative as well. The media happily did this, without bothering to dig deeper into facts.
At the same time, politicians who had a stake in running FICN rackets, had begun to resort to novel means to wriggle out. One ‘creative’ female politician struck a deal with a Nepalese minister who promised to deposit her money in certain banks of Nepal for a 10% cut. The Intelligence Bureau got wind of this and informed the Prime Minister as well as the Home Minister. Hasmukh promptly contacted the Defence Minister and the two worked out a plan to prevent her from carrying out her covert deal. It was announced that the Indian Army would be conducting a routine exercise along the India-Nepal borders for three days and so no movement of goods across the borders was allowed. New Delhi informed the Nepalese government before the announcement.
The lady was in a fix. The money she had was in cash and could not possibly be transferred online. She lashed out at the Prime Minister, using personal slight as well, and claimed that the Jadeja government was set to destroy the age-old ties between India and Nepal. She received support for her campaign from certain elitist Nepalese politicians who were forever seeing conspiracies on India’s part to “subjugate” Nepal.
In the meanwhile, despite CK’s best efforts, the demonetisation drive was moving forward in less than effective ways. Banks did not have enough time to weed out the counterfeit notes. When the dust settled and the Reserve Bank of India started counting the high-value currency notes that had become worthless pieces of paper, it realised that at least 13% of the counterfeit currency had made it back into the system.
The opposition began to question the government, pointing out that the aim of flushing out black money had not been realised. Besides, the Prime Minister’s rivals accused him of putting ordinary citizens to great inconvenience by his “ill-considered decision.” For two months, long queues could be seen outside banks with people waiting to deposit the high-value notes they had. Most of them were ordinary citizens with hard-earned clean money. Across the country, people faced major cash crunches and everything was impacted; daily business transactions, weddings, life as India knew it.
One person who was secretly pleased by all of this was PP. He made it known through his friends in the media that the person behind the fiasco was CK, who had not advised the
Prime Minister properly.
A nation used to making payments by cash was suddenly using digital payment methods for groceries, milk, pills and even auto rickshaw fare. The real estate sector, which was one of the major sources of black money, was practically tumbled upside down. Regardless, the implementation of demonetisation at the ground level was pretty dismal.
Further trouble was in store for people. The new notes, which were circulated were of different dimensions, which meant that all Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) had to be re-calibrated. The dimensions had to be changed to deter counterfeiting of the new notes too. It proved to be a hugely time-consuming process, and often people returned empty handed from the ATMs.
Realising that much more needed to be done to tackle the fake currency menace, the NSA asked Mike to hit at the FICN network with new vigour. It was brought to the government’s notice that India was getting its currency printing paper from the same source that Pakistan was. The Home Minister moved swiftly and brought about a halt to the purchase from the vendor concerned. It happened to be the same vendor who was patronized by the previous Finance Minister and the company that he had created, headed by his trusted bureaucrats, despite knowing that the vendor had links with Pakistan.
A seemingly different development, but actually connected to the FICN racket, came to the government’s attention. The Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing (the country’s external intelligence agency) unearthed a plot by some Islamist groups to bomb churches along the coast of a neighbouring country. Parts of the ammunition had been assembled in India and smuggled across to the target nation. New Delhi promptly shared the information with Sri Lanka, and the United States was kept in the loop as well. Unfortunately, the island nation failed to act on time. The bombings did happen and over 300 people were killed. It was a huge wakeup call for the government there to finally crack down on Islamist organisations on its soil. But it was all too little, too late.