Congress leader Abdul Rahman Antulay, who died at 85 on Tuesday, would relate with deep bitterness his fall off the perch in 1982, embroiled in a corruption scandal that is still among the top on any list of Indian scandals – the ‘cement scam.’
His way of helping the poor through trusts to which industrialists were forced to donate money in lieu of cement allocation that he had discretion over was indeed a big mistake and misuse of political power.
Mr. Antulay was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra between 1980 and 1982. He believed it was a conspiracy that did him in, and there is an element of truth in it, as late journalist Dom Moraes writes in a 1992 book.
In 2004, the Congress resurrected him from oblivion and appointed him the Minister of Minority Affairs, a newly created portfolio.
Mr. Antulay displayed a sense of mass politics and aloofness simultaneously, was scholarly and populist at the same time, and never gave up the old world adherence to courtesies that he showed even to his worst critics. “He was an affable man, who had in his short tenure as CM made an excellent impression on most people,” wrote Mr. Moraes.
He was a confidant of Indira Gandhi and his rehabilitation in 2004 by Sonia Gandhi was seen as a reward for his loyalty. One of the trusts that landed in controversy was called Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.
As Minority Affairs Minister between 2004 and 2009, which was the evening stretch of his political career that started in 1962 as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Mr. Antulay oversaw the functioning of the Justice Rajinder Sachar committee that did a comprehensive study of the social, economical and educational conditions of Muslims.
But Mr. Antulay demonstrated understanding of, and sensitivity towards, the concerns of all minorities – religious and linguistic. He did not restrict the mandate of his ministry to Muslims.
His career concluded on a controversial note as he suggested that senior police officer Hemant Karkare’s death in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack may have something to do with his investigations into the terror groups of the Hindu right. The Congress disowned the comments and he lost the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
