New Delhi: On New Year’s Day in 2019, the then Union finance minister Arun Jaitley threw a sumptuous lunch for his close friends. All of them had one thing in common — they were part of the uniquely-christened group, OPIUM, or Old Political Individuals of the University Meet (OPIUM).
This was one of the last get-togethers of this group, which was formed around 10 years ago. OPIUM, the acronym, was a brainchild of Jaitley and his close friend Vijay Mehta of Mefcom Group.
OPIUM had 60-odd members drawn from a cross-section of society — the main criteria for induction into the group was that they should have studied in Delhi University between 1969 and 1973, and should have remained active during the Jayprakash (JP) Narayan-led anti-Emergency movement, their political leanings and ideologies notwithstanding.
The first get-together of the group was held at the India International Centre in Delhi a decade ago.
It, however, went dormant later, first due to Jaitley’s ill-health and then his death.
“Jaitley was the glue that brought us all together. He made us forget our individual ideologies and sit together to discuss the problems confronting our country. We discussed, disagreed, debated but never fought. We are trying to revive OPIUM, and hope to meet soon. That will also be our homage to our friend,” said one of the members.
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‘We’re truly a democratic group’
Taking the lead in re-starting the informal sittings are Mehta, BSP leader Sudhir Goyal and a few others.
“Jaitley and I were both in jail during Emergency. I belonged to the Socialist Youth Group while he was from the ABVP, the student wing of the RSS. But our goal was common. And when we all decided to start this group, it was always going to be apolitical,” said BSP leader Sudhindra Bhadoria.
He added, “In these trying times, it is very important to have a dialogue going, especially if you agree with the contrarian point of view. In our group, even if we didn’t agree with the point of view of some other members, we never tried to force our view. We are truly a democratic group, one where all shades of opinions are welcome. That is what even Jaitley wanted.”
Another member of OPIUM said the group met two to three times a year, always at a member’s house, had food and discussed important issues.
“Arun (Jaitley) was a very important leader of the BJP, who knew a lot of things. But, when he talked to us, he was our friend, always very free and frank. It would have been interesting to hear Jaitley’s opinion on the kind of things the Narendra Modi government is doing now, all this CAA and Muslim business. At heart, Jaitley was a liberal,” said the member, who didn’t wish to be named.
Among the other prominent members of the group were Amarjit Kaur (CPI), Gopi Manchanda, Delhi Congress leader Subash Chopra, R.K. Bhatia, Sudhir Goyal (BSP), H.S. Josh, journalist Vinod Dua and activist Kamla Bhasin.
“We are trying to revive OPIUM. It will be our homage to Arun. He would have wanted us to remain together, discuss issues without fighting over petty politics. Our effort was to meet today since it’s his birthday (on 28 December). But we will meet soon,” said Vijay Mehta, who is also the Honorary Consul General of Romania in India.
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