How Vajpayee was "fired" by the need to refurbish his image ?? --- :: Why Kalyan Singh Govt's 'Kalp Yojana' scheme of 1998 was not debated during the marathon discussion on 150 years of Vande Mataram ??

The Sanghparivar and even the BJP will always find it difficult to explain or see rationale in what stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee often said and did.  

Once he struck a deal with Late Kanshi Ram and agreed that the office of chief ministership in Lucknow could be rotated after every six months.  

It is argued that Vajpayee generally was "fired" by the need to refurbish his image and that of his NDA government, Vajpayee would often strike an aggressive posture. 

This included a combo-package -- he had to push forward the economic agenda because post-Nuke tests in May 1998, India was reeling under economic sanctions slapped by the Clinton administration. 

On the other hand; Vajpayee had to rein in the hardliners in the BJP and many said - - that included his close friend and a powerful cabinet  colleague L K Advani. 

The real problem was not with the then Home Minister; the complex challenge came from the likes of Kalyan Singh - an acolyte of Advani and the then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.  

Many contemporary BJP leaders may not recall onetime junior minister in UP - Ravindra Shukla.                    

In December 1998, Shukla, then Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Basic Education, was sacked from the Kalyan Singh ministry for his alleged ''irresponsible behaviour'' in ''misleading'' the Prime Minister Vajpayee as well Chief Minister Kalyan Singh on the question of making Vande Mataram mandatory in the curriculum of government-run primary schools in the state.

According to an official statement issued then, it was stated that Shukla had committed 'serious breach' of trust by keeping the state cabinet in dark about the scheme Kalp Yojana. 

Shukla's removal from the council of ministers came at the insistence of Prime Minister Vajpayee himself. 

The BJP stalwart was "upset" over being misled by the UP minister on the controversial directive on Saraswati Vandana and Vande Mataram.  The Uttar Pradesh government order had made the recitation of Vande Mataram and Saraswati Vandana "compulsory" had provoked a major controversy.

The Vajpayye government had come under attack over the issues with Muslim leaders and Islamic scholars and clerics protesting against what they had said - a 'totally unIslamic' exercise. Vajpayee was worried that even Samata Party led by George Fernandes and TDP of Chandrababu Naidu could threaten the stability of his government.

The Minister was dropped only after Kalyan Singh was summoned to Delhi by PM Vajpayee.

There's another twist in the tale. 

In fact, Shukla had claimed that the order 'under Kalp' scheme was issued in July 1997 when Mayawati was the chief minister. The plan was being implemented in several districts by December 1998. 

However, during one of his trips to Lucknow; Vajpayee had said ---- "No such order was issued".

Hence, Ravindra Shukla was made a false guy and shown the door.  No wonder, the RSS was displeased by such a decision. Shukla was the Sangh fountainhead nominee to the Kalyan Singh ministry.

All these were also related to internal power tussle in the BJP.  

Kalyan Singh had as many as three strong rivals - two Brahmins Kalraj Mishra and Lalji Tandon. And the Thakur leader and 'ambitious' man was Rajnath Singh,then UP BJP president.

Kalyan Singh also gave marching orders to Basic Education Secretary R C Dwivedi who was ''directly involved'' in pushing the plan.

On being contacted after he was dropped from the ministry, Shukla had said --- 

''It least bothers me if I have had to sacrifice my position for the sake of sticking to my ideals. So many people have laid down their lives for reciting Vande Mataram during British rule, when it was the most popular song of defiant freedom fighters."  

For his part Kalyan Singh took the episode with a pinch of salt.

He claims the 'Vande Mataram controversy' and sacking of Ravindra Shukla as the minster had not cause any damage to the party image.

As a face saver, he had even said - that the calendar year 1999 would be declared as the Vande Mataram Year in Uttar Pradesh. 

But Kalyan Singh did not last long. On November 12, 1999, his stint as Chief Minister was eclipsed.

He was replaced by Ram Prakash Gupta - who was MLC.

Later Rajnath Singh, who was MLA from Haidergarh, became chief minister on Oct 28, 2000 and held the post till March 8, 2002.

On Board a Spl aircraft - Rajnath Singh and blogger 

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