When late Pramod Mahajan was ordained by the party to set up a political research unit in Delhi, the first man he contacted was VS Acharya.
Known for his penchant for statistics on many subjects, including economy, agriculture, water resources, banking and education, Acharya had collected a treasure of statistics on population, economic growth, per capita income, the country’s spending on defence, education and the effects of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation. Behind the scenes, Acharya’s knowledge was sought and utilised by many Central leaders for formulating policies.
“Every Indian should get ready to change his lifestyle, he should hone his skills to grab the opportunities in the globalised situation. The fruits of globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation will reach every Indian. In this situation, the government will become a facilitator and Inspector Raj will be a thing of the past.
The days are not far when every Indian can have his own dream house, at least one car parked on his compound and children going to good schools,” was the gist of the speech made by Acharya in 1999, when he addressed the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry as a MLC.
Acharya’s friendly disposition helped him get close to even his bitter critics.
“He used to win people with his knowledge. He never bothered about negative criticism but worked upon every bit of constructive criticism that came his way,” Prabhakar Nayak Gujjadi,
his long-time associate, told DNA.
Among Acharya’s admirers in the opposition parties are Union minister for corporate affairs M Veerappa Moily, former Union minister B Janardhana Poojary, five-time Kundapur MLA Pratapchandra Shetty and Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes.
His impact
Ever since the BJP started emerging as a party to be reckoned with in the 1980s, Acharya was on every central poll panel of the party. “I was witness to his hardwork. He used to be awake till wee hours in the morning, poring over details, drafting and analysing and writing” says the leader’s elder son Raviraj Acharya.
Ananth Kumar, who was his follower for a long time, concurred, “One of the aspects that brought the BJP to power in the state as well as the centre twice was the election manifesto, of which Dr Acharya was a drafting panelist. He had guided the party into victory not just in Karnataka but in every BJP-ruled state.”
A man with a reformist agenda
VS Acharya was a Hindu liberal, like his mentors Lal Krishna Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“He had imbibed a lot from Lal Krishna Advani when they were together in Bangalore central jail for 18 months, starting from November 1975 during the Emergency. Advani had much appreciation for the civic reforms Acharya had brought about in Udupi as a young TMC president. He introduced toilets with septic tanks and leach pits to replace the practice of carrying human excreta on head by the Dalits, which was common in Udupi in those days,” Vishveshwar Thirtha Senior Swamiji of Pejavar Mutt told DNA.
Dalit Congress leader Basavalingappa, who was the minister in SN Nijalingappa government, had made an appeal on the floor of the house, asking all Congress TMCs to follow the model created by Acharya, recalls Dr MR Pai.
In another model, Acharya created a non-tax revenue model for Udupi. He renovated various buildings owned by the Udupi municipality and turned them into shops, office spaces and business spots and gave them on rent to entrepreneurs.
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