When amiable Fernandes met Deoras, Deshmukh in Nagpur

Firebrand socialist leader George Fernandes, who passed away in Delhi on Tuesday morning, looked forward to building ties with the right wing much before he became defence minister in the BJP-led NDA government.
Fernandes, who had strong links with Nagpur, had once discreetly met Balasaheb Deoras, the RSS Sarsanghchalak at that time, remembers his old friend Jayant Harkare. “When he went underground during Emergency, Fernandes remained in hiding at a house in Shankar Nagar,” he added.

Harkare, who worked as a photographer with pro-RSS Marathi daily Tarun Bharat, recalls how he had arranged the meeting. A strong admirer of Fernandes’ commitment towards the depressed classes, Harkare says the two became friends despite different ideologies after an accidental encounter in Mumbai. At that time Harkare was in the Navy.

“Later, when I joined Tarun Bharat, I met Fernandes again in 1969. We have remained in contact since then. During one of his visits I got a message that he wanted to meet Deoras,” said Harkare.

Fernandes met Deoras at the RSS headquarters at 9pm. “I do not remember the exact date but it was sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s,” said Harkare. Deoras headed RSS from 1973 to 1994.

“The meeting lasted for an hour and Deoras stressed that they should set aside ideological differences and come up with a school of thought which would suit national interests. The ideology should have its roots in the country, rather than an adaptation of a foreign thought,” remembers Harkare.

While some of Fernandes’ associates in the city refuted the incident, other senior colleagues endorsed Harkare’s story.

“There is nothing surprising about him meeting RSS leaders, Even I had ferried senior functionaries like Nanaji Deshmukh in my car to meet George during Emergency. Gandhinagar (Gujarat) used to be one of his favourite bases. I used to escort many underground leaders, including those from Jan Sangh, for meetings with George,” said veteran journalist Vikram Rao who too was behind bars during Emergency.

Rao, who worked with TOI, recalls that Fernandes also had a stint as proof reader with the newspaper in Mumbai.

Harish Adyalkar, a railway union leader from the city, was Fernandes’ close aid in Nagpur. The 82-year-old now has mixed feelings about the departed leader. “No doubt he was an honest man, but he also forgot his old colleagues eventually, which left many disappointed, ” said Adyalkar.

Adyalkar remembers Fernandes telling him that he had rejected an application for a licence renewal by a leading business group when he was the industries minister. “The very George who had brought the railways to a standstill later admitted after becoming the railway minister that the entire budget of the country would fall short if all workers’ demands are met,” he said.

“I later realized that the strike was a well-planned move. There was a political motive behind it as Emergency soon followed the events like railway strike and other agitations. During one of his last visits to Nagpur towards the end of his political career, George confided how people asked him for funds but he was not in a position to oblige,” said an emotional Adyalkar.

Rajendra Gaur, who too was an old associate, remembers how he stressed on nationalization of industries and was instrumental in starting the Konkan Railway project.

Former mayor Atal Bahadur Singh said he had first met Fernandes when he was a students’ union leader. “He may have changed as some say but he was never corrupt,” said Singh.