R Krishna Das
Giving away the post of Chief Minister is poignant for any politician! For Kalyan Singh; it was poker faced, literally, that too for Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Kalyan Singh, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the historic Ayodhya movement in early 90s, passed away on Saturday. He would be remembered as the champion of Hindutva, who paved the way for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
At a time when Chief Ministers play all gimmicks to hold the position, Kalyan Singh has started the preparation to quit the coveted office four years ahead of his tenure. And it was just for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Kalyan Singh knew he would not remain the Chief Minister for the second year and hence cleared all major blockades for temple construction in the first year in office.
In November 1992, Makhan Lal Fotedar went to the residence of N D Tiwari in Lucknow. In his autobiography The Chinar Leaves, Fotedar wrote, “I observed that a house near Tiwari’s residence was getting renovated and the workers were briskly painting and repairing it as if to meet some deadline. I asked Tiwari, “whose house is this?”
Tiwari informed Fotedar that it belonged to Kalyan Singh, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Fotedar remarked, “Kalyan Singh still has about four years to go, then why the renovation now?’ Fotedar and Tiwari later reached the conclusion that Kalyan Singh had worked out that he might not remain Chief Minister for long and therefore he was renovating his house to shift there soon.
On November 27, Fotedar met the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao and briefed about the renovation work going on at Kalyan Singh’s private house. “My plea to him (Narasimha Rao) that the (Babri) structure should not be harmed since it was part of our history had apparently gone unheard,” Fotedar wrote in his memoir.
After the Babri disputed structure was demolished on December 6, 1992, Kalyan Singh tendered his resignation. When Kalyan Singh quit the office of Chief Minister, he had a long four years to go. Kalyan Singh remained Chief Minister for one year and dedicated it to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Soon after becoming the Chief Minister, Kalyan Singh initiated steps for the construction of the Ram Temple. The VHP in the autumn of 1991 moved to acquire a significant number of private properties around the dispute structure and succeeded in acquiring 2.77 acres of land. Kalyan Singh played a crucial role in the acquisition.
Kalyan Singh is no longer to see the magnificent Mandir coming up in Ayodhya, but his imprint will always be there!
