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I last met Krishan Kant on July 23. I discussed with him his future role after he gave up the vice-president's post.
What surprised me most [was] that he said he was hurt when he was not chosen for the President's post. He felt bad because many politicians from different parties had already congratulated him for being the unanimous choice! And this was long before the competition narrowed down to A P J Abdul Kalam and P C Alexander.
I asked him what his other options in life were. He said he wanted to put the untapped natural resources of India to good use. 'There is so much waste land and water which has not been put to good use for years. I want [to find] ways to make good use of it,' he said.
I told him he could make good use of his organization named after Lala Lajpat Rai, which he was heading. I floated the idea that he could educate newly elected parliamentarians on how to serve the interests of the country. He liked the idea very much.
But our meeting did not last long because I had to go and meet [former prime minister] Chandra Shekhar and he [Krishan Kant] had some appointments.
He first joined politics in 1966. He was a physicist and had not participated in politics earlier, except during the Quit India Movement. His father Lala Achint Ram and his mother were also freedom fighters and he always believed in the politics of commitment rather than the politics of convenience. If you see his political graph, never has there been an allegation of corruption against him.
As a physicist, he was strongly in favour of India making the atom bomb. He always felt strongly about the defence needs of our country. But at the same time he believed in giving [strength] to our democratic values. He was a very cultured person and very much against corruption.
When we revolted against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he was also given the title of 'Young Turk' along with me, Chandra Shekhar, Ram Dhan and many others. Those were the days when we understood each other very well. I felt he was a very sober person all his life.
My friendship with Krishan Kant became so strong after the Emergency that we started living like brothers. I always met him when I was in New Delhi. I never had to seek an appointment to meet him. I always felt at home at his house. Likewise, he used to stay at my home whenever he visited Pune.
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