Two more Ministers have been appointed for Madras, Bikkini
Veeraswami and R. Raghava Menon. It is an open secret that a battle-royal has
been raging for sometime between the Premier and Kamaraj Nadar over the
appointment of Kerala’s representative in the Ministry. Kamaraj backed Madhava
Menon for all he was worth. Madhava is disliked greatly in Kerala. He may be
called the Malayalee Gopala Reddy. For years Gopala Reddy’s energies used to be
taxed in continual under-ground propaganda to undermine Prakasam’s political
position. Yet at the time of the Andhra Provincial Congress Committee meeting
at Rajahmundry it was he that moved a motion of confidence in Prakasam, and he
did it in glowing terms. Likewise, Madhava Menon burrowed and intrigued and did
all he could to advance the inglorious plot to elevate Muthurangam to parliamentary
leadership. But when the plot failed and Prakasam was eventually elected, he
did not waste a second but declared himself forthwith as the lifelong follower
of the new Premier.
* * *
The public is quick to detect spuriousness to aspirants for
leadership. It can respect persons espousing unpopular causes. But for the
dubious, the double-dealing, the small and petty wirepuller, it has neither
mercy nor regard. Kamaraj’s fascination for Madhava Menon illustrates, if at
all anything can illustrate it, the main peculiarity of the whole tangled web
of Tamil Nadu Congress politics as it is being woven by Kamaraj Nadar. Once
Kamaraj Nadar was held in high esteem for qualities like simplicity, quiet
industry and comradely feeling for workers.
But 1942 went to his head and he fancied himself a powerful political
chieftain holding in the palm of his hand the destiny of South India. While he
was in jail he occupied himself with building in imagination the structure of
an entrancing edifice of administration for the days to come, with ministers
and parliamentary secretaries complete, and himself officiating as a power
behind the throne for the whole machinery. Madhava Menon did yeoman service in
those days in nursing Kamaraj’s ambitions and fashioning out of them welcome
agreeable delusions for the delectation of jail hours.
* * *
Mahava Menon is an attractive figure to Kamaraj on account of
his being ideally constituted to fill the part of figurehead. Recent events
seem to have greatly emphasized the need for such a figurehead to the President
of the T.N.C.C., since Bhaktavatsalam, politically the most important of his
nominees to the Cabinet, shows signs of wishing to extricate himself from the
old sorry mess of anti-C.R. intrigues, devote himself conscientiously to work
and turn out to be an independent Minister under nobody’s leading strings. But
Kamaraj erred miserably in his estimate of Prakasam. It is possible to mislead
Prakasam but no one can browbeat him. When recommendation on behalf of Madhava
Menon passed on to threats, the inevitable happened and the Premier and the
would-be Minister-maker fell out with no particle of good feeling left out of
the old alliance.
* * *
To clothe his resentment with a presentable appearance to
make it look like public spirit, and embark on an anti-Prakasam campaign as he
had done before on an anti-C.R. campaign is now apparently the political
programme of Kamaraj Nadar. People are sick of the Nadar squabbles and they are
no more in a mood to be befooled and played with in order that Kamaraj may
pursue his chronic power-hunting tactics. The advent of Raghava Menon brings to
the Cabinet ability of no mean order as much for constructive purposes as for
counteracting the disruptive mischief of the Nadarites. He is the best choice
of Minister that could possibly be made for Kerala, and in choosing him in
defiance of Kamaraj’s unpatriotic insistence for personal reasons on Madhava
Menon, obviously inferior to Raghava Menon in every way, the Premier has shown
commendable sagacity and sound judgment.
* * *
Raghava Menon has enormous practical good sense. Shrewd and
intelligent, he knows how to set about in pursuit of aims commanding his
interest, and can be depended upon to get things done. His face is a fortune to
him. In moments of portentous gravity, there is always a suggestion of humour,
even a little of comicality, lurking in his face, and a cross between
seriousness and mischief peeps at you from his eyes when he is engrossed in
solving a difficulty. He can tie up a lot of responsibility into facetiousness,
and he has the gift of relieving the tension of tough situations with a joke or
a light stroke of raillery. When he puts his heart into a thing, he allows
himself no rest until the aim in view is secured. He is an indefatigable
planner. He can dissolve the intrigues of opponents with omniscient vigilance
and deft counter-moves, and if anyone can disarm Kamaraj Nadar, torpedo his
plans and eventually put him out of action, it is he. Where others show temper
and tighten fists in belligerent outbursts, he will seek to enlist laughter
into service for relieving strain and promoting co-operative work. He has guts.
He is much wiser even than what people know him to be for the reason that till
now he never had opportunity enough to give proof of his qualities and worth.
* * *
Bikkini Veeraswami, the new Andhra Minister, is not very well
known, but report speaks well of him. The Kammas are a powerful section in
Andhra and it was a foregone conclusion that one from among them would be
chosen for one of the ministerial vacancies. Many thought that the choice would
lie between Babipeedu and Chandramowli. Now one and now the other of the two
figured as the most probable and the strain of conjecture became almost a
harassment to the politically interested. To be found wrong in company is some
consolation to those found not to be in the right: this consolation now belongs
to the backers of the two unsuccessful aspirants. Bikkini’s appointment was a
well guarded secret that took everybody by surprise when it was announced. He
is supposed to be an agriculturist with a diploma in agriculture, keenly
interested in agricultural progress. If so the Premier’s initial act of
entrusting to him the portfolio of agriculture was well advised. Its subsequent
transfer to another Minister is meaningless.—(June 29, 1946) S A K A.
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