NATIONAL FRONT AND DMK TREASURER SADIQ PASHA IN KASHMIR ENCLAVE KEEPING MGR OUT

HEARING NATIONAL CONFERENCE PRESIDENT AND FORMER CHIEF MINISTER OF KASHMIR FAROOK ABDULLAH PAYING HOMAGE TO 

DR.KALAIGNAR M.KARUNANIDHI on 30.08.2018 MY MIND FLASHED TOWARDS THE BEHIND THE SCENES EFFORTS PUT UP BY ME TO KEEP MGR OUT OF NON CONGRESS PARTIES CONCLAVE AND BRING IN DMK INTO THAT FOLD WHICH LED TO THE FORMATION OF NATIONAL FRONT.

N.T. Rama Rao, President of the Telugu Desam party took the initiative to organize a group of non-Congress and regional parties. He was keen in the coming together of the opposition parties for providing a viable alternative to the ruling Congress (I). He took the initiative to convene a conclave of all non-Congress (I) parties at Vijayawada from May 31 and June 1, 1983. Leaders of 14 parties, including the two Communist parties, issued a joint declaration on national problems including Assam and Punjab. For the first time, the BJP and Communists met together in one platform.5 This credit goes to N.T. Rama Rao. The main issue of discussion in the meeting was the restructuring of Centre-State relations to ensure state autonomy.

N.Nandhivarman Ex-Propaganda Secretary Pondicherry State DMK [ he was appointed by DMK General Secretary Navalar Nedunchezhian in this post only for 1974 Pondicherry Assembly polls, but was using Ex- Designation till 1994] wrote to All National Leaders including George Fernandes, H.N.Bahuguna, Farook Abdullah, Maneka Gandhi etc , that they should not have invited M.G.Ramachandran who had no steadfast policy on opposing Congress.

N.Nandhivarman pointed out that fearing alleged IT raids MGR once said “ Anna is my Leader, Kamaraj is my guide “ and this sentence made his film En Kadamai a box office failure. Recalling this he urged these leaders to invite DMK only for Non Congress enclaves. All leaders replied and his letters with replies were given to Kalaignar M.Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence which Shanmuganathan his assistant knows. This led to re-think among Non-Congress leaders.

The letter of Lok Dal leader H.N.Bahuguna is reproduced here. Letters of others are in National Archives of Pondicherry.

The success of the Vijayawada conclave, spurred N.T. Rama Rao to continue his efforts. A second conclave scheduled to be held in New Delhi on June 30, 1983, seemed initially to have run into rough weather, with several parties which attended the Vijayawada conference refraining from taking part in it. But the situation was retrieved at the last moment by some deft diplomacy on the part of N.T. Rama Rao and Dr. Farooq Abdullah. Those who attended Vijayawada but were absent at the New Delhi meeting were; the BJP, the AIADMK and the Rashtriya Sanjay Manch.The second conclave was projected a collective stand on the sensitive Punjab issue and urged the Centre to attempt a political solution to the problem.

The third conclave was held in Srinagar on October 5, 1983. In all 53 leaders from 17 parties including four Chief Ministers took part in it.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran, the leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, was the only Non-Congress (I) Chief Minister to have kept out of the conclave.

 It was said that he was contemplating to come closer to the Congress (I) which had ended its alliance with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham. 

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, which did not take part in the conclaves at Vijayawada and New Delhi, was a new entrant to the Srinagar meeting. Treasurer of DMK, Sadiq Pasha represented DMK in Srinagar Enclave.

The Srinagar conclave was an important one. The only item on the agenda was Centre - State relations and it adopted a comprehensive prescription for harmonious Centre- State relations. It was passed a 31 points resolution suggesting large scale changes in Centre-State relation in the administrative, economic and political fields. Further, they suggested that, the Centre should confine itself to subjects like defense, foreign affairs, currency and communications etc.

The fourth conclave was held in Calcutta on January I3 and 14, 1984. About, 75 delegates representing 16 parties attended this conclave. The conclave adopted a resolution demanding "a total restructuring" of the economic policies of the Centre and offered an alternative economic programme for the uplift of the poor and the middle classes.  Many important developments followed in the latter half of 1984. NTR, sacked from power in August had to be called back to power by the Government in September. Smt. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984; parties in opposition to Congress (I) except the Telugu Desam fared badly in the eighth Lok Sabha elections. These had their impact on the efforts to bring together non-Congress parties on a common platform. There was a lull for about two years in activities aimed at opposition unity, presumably due to the disappearance of Indira Gandhi and the after math.