Indira Bhawan, A Tribute To The Former Prime Minister

The new Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, was inaugurated on the Kotla Road in the capital, amidst an unnecessary controversy precipitated by the Bharatiya Janata Party, on why it was not named after Dr Manmohan Singh, who passed away recently.

- PANKAJ vo HRA

It was also the failure of the communication department of the Congress not to adequately project the shifting of the office in the media, given that it was perhaps for the first time in its 140 years history, the party was shifting to the premises which were owned by it. There was no preview or highlighting of the various facilities offered at the Indira Bhawan, something which was unexplainable. In addition, the current leadership which thrives because it has inherited the legacy of Indira Gandhi, the greatest mass leader of the last century, also did not delve on the historic significance of the new address and structure.

For most people who cover politics, the Congress Headquarters is synonymous with 24, Akbar Road, the place where it shifted after the second split of 1978. Between the first split and the second one, the Congress office of the Indira Gandhi faction was located on 5, Rajendra Prasad Road. In fact, it was at the meeting of the Working Committee of the party then headed by K. Brahmananda Reddy, an appointee of Indira Gandhi, who later joined hands with her detractors like YB Chavan and others, that the former Prime Minister was expelled following high drama. I, as a student of Delhi University, was present in the lawns of 5, Rajendra Prasad Road, when the drama unfolded. Mohammad Shamim, of the Times of India, who later became my mentor so far as political reporting was concerned, was covering the event and was also seated in the lawn outside soaking the winter sun.