Devi Lal’s short presidency in 1958
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Sensing that an easily quelled rebellion may be in the offing, Kairon took some pre-emptive measures. He offered the post of party president to Chaudhary Devi Lal. Kairon’s choice came as a surprise to all. For, there had been an understanding between the Pradesh Congress Committee and the Congress Working Committee in Delhi that Ram Saran Chand Mittal, former speaker of the Pepsu Assembly, would be unanimously elected as the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress. What had happened was this. When it came time for to elect a president for the Punjab Congress in March, senior Congress leaders from Punjab approached U N Dhebar, the President of the All India Congress, to intercede. They convinced Dhebar that the election of their nominee, one Ram Saran Chand Mittal, would be the best in the interest of the Congress party in Punjab. Dhebar agreed to speak to Kairon on letting Mittal become the president. Dhebar was under the impression that Kairon would accept instructions from Delhi. While not saying anything openly to Dhebar, Kairon had little hesitation, at the last moment, to pushing aside Mittal and supporting Chaudhary Devi Lal for the coveted post of President of the Pradesh Congress.
In the meeting of the 23rd March, at Patiala, when Mittal’s name was proposed, Kairon rose to propose the name of Devi Lal. A shocked Mittal, knowing fully well that he did not carry much weight with the delegates, withdrew his name. Dr. Gopi Chand Bhargava and Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir walked out of the meeting to show their displeasure at Kairon’s proposal. As soon as Kairon proposed the name of Devi Lal, Abdul Ghani, another of Kairon’s detractors, came up with a counter proposal and suggested the name of Prabodh Chandra for president. In the secret ballot that followed Devi Lal got 116 votes while Chandra received only 31. Thus, on the 23rd March 1958, Devi Lal came to be elected the President of the Congress in Punjab.
A miffed Prabodh Chandra promptly complained of underhand dealings in selecting the President. Prabodh Chandra, C S Bajwa and Lehri Singh, all former ministers whom Kairon had not included in his ministry, sent an election petition to Dhebar demanding the cancellation of Devi Lal’s election. They complained that official cars of the ministers were used to ferry Kairon supporters to the election meetings at Patiala. Kairon denied the charges and challenged them to come up with some evidence. Those opposed to Kairon used Devi Lal’s election to accuse Kairon of trying to subvert the democratic ways of the Congress and promote lawlessness. His administration, they insisted, had corrupted public life, and demoralised the administration to an extent where there was ‘virtually no law and order in the state’.
By the end of the week, early in April, U N Dhebar summoned Kairon to Delhi to inform him of the displeasure of the Congress High Command at the election of Devi Lal. Some even speculated that the central high command was so annoyed with the happenings in Punjab that it might dissolve the Pradesh Congress Committee.
Kairon explained to Dhebar that his detractors were mainly those whom he had not included in the cabinet. They did little to help run the government in Punjab and their frequent but baseless complaints were the result of their having an easy access to the party leadership in Delhi. In a two-hour long meeting with the Congress president Kairon explained the differences that existed in the Punjab Congress over Devi Lal and how Devi Lal’s election to the presidentship of the Pradesh Congress was perfectly correct. However, there was little sign to suggest that Dhebar appreciated the elevation of Devi Lal as the president of the Congress. Somehow, Devi Lal, facing charges of serious corruption, simply did not fit in the role of being a leader in the Congress. Dhebar admonished Kairon firmly for unnecessarily complicating the affairs of the Punjab Congress.
Back in Punjab, Devi Lal’s election was criticised by many members of the Punjab Congress Working Committee. Dr. Bhargava and Giani Kartar Singh persuaded some ten members of the Punjab CWC to resign from the CWC to protest the election of Devi Lal as President of the Congress. Ten of them sent in their resignations that were promptly accepted by Devi Lal. These included the resignation of Dr. Bhargava, Giani Kartar Singh, Gurmukh Singh Musafir and Brish Bhan. However, sensing that with all the stalwarts of the Congress opposed to him, his stint as the president of the Punjab Congress may be far too dependent on Kairon, later in the day Devi Lal sent in his own resignation to Dhebar, the Congress President. His letter of resignation mentioned ‘considerable controversy’ as the reason. He also wrote the by now formulaic pledge of being fully loyal to the Congress organisation which he would help revitalise in the state. One of the unexpected results of the members of the anti-Kairon camp resigning from the CWC was that now the CWC was fully under the control of Kairon.
-India history.
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10-09-2017
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