Shimla, July 01: Spurned by the party and now looked down on by even district authorities in Himachal Pradesh, George Fernandes, a nine-time MP and former defence minister, got a raw deal from the Kangra district administration when he reached Dharamshala on June 22.
Despite knowing that he is the NDA convenor and a former Union minister, he was allotted an ordinary room – number 201 – in the circuit house. This room was usually given to servants and security staff of ministers and bureaucrats.
Fernandes is on a two-week tour to Dharamshala to meet the Dalai Lama. But sources said he chose the climes of the hill state to write his autobiography.
Interestingly, former Delhi chief minister Madan Lal Khurana and his family of five were not only given a rousing welcome but was declared a state guest when they reached the hill station four days later.
Since Khurana was accorded status of a state guest, his food and- lodge expenses were borne by the Himachal government.
But that was not the case for Fernandes, the former Janata Dal (United) leader who rebelled against the party when he was denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Mujaffarpur.
He was treated like a “common man”. But the state government tried to make amends when the media highlighted the treatment meted out to the socialist.
On Monday, George was hurriedly declared a state guest and was also shifted to a VIP room in the circuit house.
Secretariat sources said chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal was angry with the callous attitude of the local administration that caused a major embarrassment to the BJP-ruled state.
A government official tried to reason for the faux pas: “There was no information about his visit to the state government nor had he asked the authorities to help.”
–Agencies