TN Chaturvedi asks Manish Tewari to check records with MHA
As the war of words between the BJP and the Congress over Sardar Patel rages on, former Karnataka Governor and former Comptroller and Auditor General of India TN Chaturvedi has said that it was “very wrong” to cast aspersions on former bureaucrat MKK Nair’s closeness with India’s first Home Minister.
“Nair was indeed closely associated with Sardar Patel’s operations for the liberation of Hyderabad and he was the senior most in the first batch of IAS officials of the country,” Chaturvedi told The Pioneer. He also said if anyone had doubts, he could well have a background check as any civil servant’s service records are available with the Ministry of Home Affairs.
His assertions come against the backdrop of Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari doubting Nair’s credentials after senior BJP leader lK Advani quoted the former bureaucrat in his blog to say former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had described Sardar Patel a “total communalist” when as the Home Minister he had favoured military action to rein in the defiant ruler of Hyderabad after Independence.
Tewari had claimed that the Nair, whose autobiography Advani quoted, was born on December 29, 1930 and joined the IAS in 1950. If he was the same Nair, then the facts do not add up as the Hyderabad Police action happened in September 1948, Tewari had said.
In his tweets, Tewari also wondered if there was another Nair who joined the service in 1947 after a stint in the Army. If so, he suggested, the bureaucrat would have been way too junior to be privy to discussions at the highest levels.
But Chaturvedi pointed out: “In those days Nair was a very senior officer and had a proven administrative record in the Military department. like Nair, brilliant officers from other departments also were inducted in the first batch of IAS. People like Nair, due to their seniority and experience, were placed even above the ICS officers. He was just 26 years old but already had a brilliant track record in administration,” Chaturvedi, who belonged to the 1950 batch of IAS officers and had a close association with Nair, said.
“I knew Nair from the very beginning. We all were aware of his closeness with Sardar Patel and his role in the liberation of Hyderabad. It is very wrong to say that he would not be in the know of a Cabinet decision. He was a senior and widely respected officer and normally civil service officers are aware of such things, especially those who work closely with decision-makers,” he said.
“I recall my frequent interactions with Nair. What he wrote in his book was correct. Nair was an exceptionally brilliant officer with vast expertise in public service. During Independence, he was in the Military’s Hyderabad division,” said Chaturvedi.