Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had thought of resigning when the Supreme Court quashed the Presidential proclamation dissolving the Bihar legislative Assembly without allowing the then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
After Bihar Governor Buta Singh had recommended the dissolution of the legislative Assembly in 2006, the Union cabinet approved it and forwarded the same to the President, on a visit to Moscow at that time, for his approval, SM Khan, Press Secretary to Kalam in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, said on Saturday.
Khan, presently Director General of the RNI, recalled his days with the late President in a lecture titled “My Days with the greatest human soul ever” at the SOA University here. Though Kalam was reluctant, he signed the proclamation. He could have rejected it but would have had no option but to sign the same if it was sent to him for the second time, Khan said.
When the apex court quashed the proclamation, Kalam was penitent saying he should have rejected the Cabinet’s decision and thought of resigning. “He even consulted his elder brother in Rameswaram, Khan said, adding that he decided against any such step as it would have triggered a lot of Constitutional problems. Khan said technology-savvy Kalam once told Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that he intended to meet his cabinet members as he wanted to explain to them about his vision for a developed India by 2020, a pet theme for him till the last, through a power point presentation.
Though the Prime Minister was not convinced, he agreed to the proposal and a cabinet meeting was held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Kalam took the PM and other Ministers through the presentation spread over two hours.