Gandhian ideals not followed by any political party, says Bapu’s personal secretary

PUNE: Mahatma Gandhi’s vision is a blurred reality now with no takers for his ideologies, 96-year-old V Kalyanam, who worked closely with Bapu as his personal secretary from 1943-48, said on Saturday.
“Gandhian ideals are not being followed by any political party, including the Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as a result of which the country continues to suffer even after 70 years of Independence,” Kalyanam said.

He arrived in the city along with a motor rally cavalcade on Saturday. The rally was organized by the Union ministry of road transport and ministry of external affairs to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It started from New Delhi on February 4 and aimed at spreading the message of road safety.

“Gandhiji wanted the Congress party to dissolve and form Lok Sevak Sangh — a party working for the people — but that never happened. The Congress is still there and neither the Congress nor the ruling BJP are doing anything about Bapu’s ideologies or his vision,’’ Kalyanam, who has been privy to a lot of discussions and exchanges with the Father of the Nation, said.

He said Gandhiji always talked about development of villages, reduction of salaries of people’s representatives as well as free electricity, water and pension. “None of the governments have been able to implement these ideas as the situation in the villages continues to be the same as it was 70 years ago,’’ he said.

He recounted how Gandhiji was not at all happy with what was going on in the country back in 1948 and would constantly lament how nobody was following his advice. “Now, 70 years have passed, but conditions have not improved a bit. In fact, they have gotten worse,” he said, adding that nobody was even interested in voting these days.

Having a huge collection of Gandhian letters and photos, he said the political parties as well as the present generation lacked knowledge about Bapu who sacrificed his life for the country. “This makes commemoration of his 150th birth just a farce,” he said.

Kalyanam was with Bapu when he was shot dead in 1948 and has distinct memory of how he just missed the bullet by six inches on that fateful day. “He was a disappointed man before his death and had mentioned it to me,”‘ he said.

Kalyanam was accompanied by his daughter, Malini, and the father-daughter duo would proceed to other cities as a part of the motor rally, which would end at Yangon in Myanmar on February 26. At Yangon, they would showcase Bapu’s huge collection of letters and newspaper clippings and photos, besides holding a talk.

“My father devotes nearly eight hours to gardening and stays close to nature, which could be the secret of his long innings,” Malini, a social worker, said.