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== A Leader’s Ethics == The story of 6 Rupees and 25 Paisa A 1967 meeting between Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Chaudhary Charan Singh and Haridwar Resident Commissioner Chandrasekhar Dwivedi. <center>Narrated by Gaurav Dwivedi</center> “This story is from 1967, when Chaudhary Charan Singh was chief minister Uttar Pradesh and my father the resident magistrate posted in Haridwar. Haridwar wasn’t yet a district, hence the resident magistrate was pretty much the senior-most officer there. My late father Chandrasekhar Dwivedi was an IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, from the PCS batch of 1956 who had been promoted to the IAS. He was a hard-working, upright and forthright officer. Even today it warms my heart when I hear his contemporaries talk about his sterling reputation and his form approach to law and order. The Chief Minister was expected to reach Haridwar in the day at a pre-appointed time, he was delayed due to some reasons. He instead reached Haridwar very late that night. At that time, there was a Dam bungalow next to the Ganga river which was the residence of the resident magistrate. Right next to it was another bungalow which was a government guest house or the ‘Circuit House’. The Chief Minister stayed at the circuit house that night. None of the government officials knew the Chief Minister was on a fast that day, they came to know too late to make arrangements so my father provided the meal of milk and fruits from home. The tour of the Chief Minister was for 2 days, he kept busy with his official program including meeting the Commissioner of Saharanpur and workers from his political party. My father narrated to us that a good thing about Charan Singh was his strong administrative capability. He kept a keen watch on the smallest of issues. He was particular about pulling-up officers when matters in their areas of responsibility were not up to the mark by his standards. He would say so-and-so is not happening on your district, this is what you should be doing, I as the Chief Minister know more then you about what's going on and so on. However, he was also very particular about rewarding and appreciating a good and upright officer. Charan Singh’s primary objective was the good of the state from an administrative viewpoint, implementation of what was good for the public, the duty of an officer, his dharma, what the officer needed to do to execute his responsibilities including being alert and knowledgeable on the ground. Anyways, Charan Singh’s tour completed in two days and he was in his first-class cabin while the train was waiting to depart from the Haridwar station and he asked for the Resident Magistrate to be sent to him. My father reached Charan Singh who was alone in his cabin, wished him with a namaste, and was asked to sit across on the seat opposite. He took out a check already made out for six rupees and twenty five paise, wrote Chandrasekhar Dwivedi on the check and gave it to my father. He said RM sahab, please keep this. My father was obviously very taken aback that the chief minister was giving him a check, he asked what is this for. Charan Singh said “I had come the other day in the night and stayed at the Dak Bungalow and was informed that the fruits and milk had been sent from your home on a personal basis so this 6 rupees and 25 paise is for those fruits and milk that you were kind enough to send for me.” My father said “No Sir, this is not at all required, I mean I am a brahmin so I fully understand the importance of a fast, you were inordinately delayed that night and no one knew it was your fast that day, hence it was just a gesture, my house is right next door, so whatever I could organise immediately I did.” Charan Singh said “I appreciate what you did, your thoughtfulness about understanding the importance of my fast at midnight, but you just have to take this check.” He was after all the Chief Minister, it was not possible to refuse him, and father accepted the check. The Chief Minister asked a few questions about Haridwar and related issues and my father gave him reasonable answers. The Chief Minister left, the train went its way. My father never deposited that check. He died in 2016 January and held that check all those years, he kept it perhaps as a commendation, a memorabilia, as something to remember; he never presented that check at a bank. In some days Charan Singh transferred my father to Lucknow and appointed him to a responsible post because he felt here was a good administrative officer, he works sincerely. Charan Singh had anyways checked on my father’s reputation on his own. What I mean to bring out through this episode is the character and conviction of a Chief Minister, where a man like Charan Singh who had just eaten some fruits and milk from some officer gave money for this gesture." Source: Harsh Singh Lohit, Charan Singh Archives
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