A gentleman politician with highest ideals

At a time when we are witnessing politics where leaders feel that money is required for power and power is necessary to earn money, it is pertinent to remember great souls like S Jaipal Reddy on his fifth death anniversary. He is a man who proved that what matters is how articulate you are in highlighting the problems of the people and finding solutions not your physical disability.

This aspect needs to be emphasised today because the present set of leaders are not bothered about people’s issues. They want power at any cost. My last meeting with Jaipal Reddy was in 2018 when his alma mater Osmania University was celebrating its centenary celebrations. I met him almost after a gap of over 10 years. But the affection he had showered one me was same as that I had seen in 1979 when I first met him when he was the general secretary of Janata Party.

As we started our conversation, Jaipal Reddy said he was seeing more of mental disability among the present genre of politicians who would twist facts, indulge in ruckus and try to play to the gallery more.

Some people know Jaipal Reddy only as a learned man, an avid reader and man of profound sensitivity who always articulated the hopes and aspirations of the masses, particularly the weaker sections of the society. But more than that he was a leader. He was always open for healthy discussion and was well grounded. He was a man with a lot of courage.

The office of Janata Party in New Delhi in 1979 used to be in a huge heritage building near Janpath. He used to drive his own Maruti 800 car which was customised for him to suit his physical disability. He used to climb all the stairs to the second floor of that mansion as those days there was no lift facility in such buildings.

Jaipal Reddy is remembered for his witty remarks often blended with quotes ranging from Italian poet Dante and German philosopher Immanuel Kant to English playwright William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ and many more. During my one hour-long chat with him on various topics in 2018 at his Hyderabad residence, he recalled an incident when someone had told that Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had written a book on Indira Gandhi. He said his instant reaction was, “Really! A book on Indira Gandhi as an environmentalist! It’s like writing a book on Hitler as a painter.” He said if he were to describe Indira’s politics he would say that they were like Garry Kasparov’s daring chess moves. He was one leader who as a minister had the courage to say politicians are “wild animals” who need to be kept in check. He was right as today they are not only wild but turning into carnivorous animals.

In December 2000, when former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee said that the Ram temple movement was an expression of “national sentiments” and a task that remained “unfinished”, Jaipal Reddy commented, “What Vajpayee said was not a slip of tongue but a slip of mask. Prime Minister had completed “Pilgrim’s Progress from hypocrisy to theocracy”. When a motion to drop cases pertaining to the involvement of L K Advani, Murali Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharati of BJP was moved in Lok Sabha, his comments were most eloquent.

He said, “I have always admired his (Advani’s) ability to articulate his medieval ideology in a modern idiom, his mildewed worldview in a mellowed way… “I have always regarded Dr Murli Manohar Joshi as sui generis scholar scientist, but my philosophical problem with him is that he confuses history with mythology, philosophy with theology, astronomy with astrology. Our saffron sister Uma Bharati… her soul keeps alternating, transmigrating from ministry to monastery, from monastery to ministry, from kamandalism to mandalism, from mandalism to kamandalism.” Jaipal Reddy was not just about wit and sarcasm. It was he who implemented Prasar Bharati Act, giving autonomy to Doordarshan. He again played a key role in the creation of Telangana State, which the leaders who ruled for a decade may forget but not the people of the state. It was his initiative to get Metro rail project for Hyderabad and Kalwaakurthy lift irrigation project for the State.