Former Governor of Tamil Nadu Bhishma Narain Singh, who died in New Delhi recently was, some speculate, the perfect foil for former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa — who was known for being temperamental — during his two-year tenure in the State.
Barely 15 months into her first innings (1991-96) as Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa visited the Raj Bhavan around 8 p.m. on August 5, 1992, without “the usual traffic arrangements,” as this paper had reported on August 7, 1992.
For the record, the meeting was described as “a routine courtesy call”. But it set off speculation that Jayalalithaa had gone there with her letter of resignation, as she felt disgusted at the allegations of corruption and misbehaviour against a section of her party functionaries.
There were also reports of M. Natarajan, husband of Jayalalithaa’s aide V.K. Sasikala, attempting to wean away 35 legislators of the AIADMK, which had 162 members in the Assembly back then, and create disaffection in the party — a charge that Mr. Natarajan had vehemently denied. It was during the same period that the Congress party — the AIADMK’s ally — with 61 MLAs in the House — began adopting an aggressive posture in the State, as it was on the verge of securing a simple majority in the Lok Sabha.
Even though Jayalalithaa had denied that she had contemplated stepping down, the talk of her offer of resignation did not go away.
A few former IAS officers, who had observed Singh at close quarters, said Jayalalithaa did want to quit, but it was Singh who persuaded her not to do so.
One of them said the latter had once confided in him about how he prevailed upon Jayalalithaa not to quit. According to his version of events, the Governor had no clue why Jayalalithaa wanted to meet him. So, he was taken aback when she presented him with her letter of resignation. But he was quick to point out to her that there was no need to act in haste, and had advised her to revert to him a day later. When she got back to him, the Governor had returned the letter to her.
On August 23, 1992, this paper reported that “what made her change her mind was her anxiety to prevent a situation which might help revive the gun culture, got rid of at great cost and risk.” The reference was to the measures taken by the authorities to bring Tamil Nadu back to normality after the State had endured the impact of a phase in which sections of Sri Lankan Tamil militants had enjoyed a free run, during 1983-91, culminating in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in May 1991. But for Singh’s persuasive efforts in August 1992, Jayalalithaa would perhaps have never had an uninterrupted tenure as Chief Minister, as her subsequent spells, during 2001-2006 and 2011-16, were interrupted by judicial verdicts, and eventually, her death, the former Governor’s associate added.