A 94-year-old man was thrown out of a rented house by the landlord for not paying the rent. The old man had hardly any belongings except an old bed, some aluminum utensils, a plastic bucket and a mug etc. The old man requested the owner to give him some time to pay the rent. The neighbors also took pity on the old man, and they convinced the landlord to give him some time to pay the rent. The landlord reluctantly gave him some time to pay the rent.
The old man took his belongings inside.
A journalist passing by stopped and saw the whole scene. He thought it would be useful to publish the matter in his newspaper. He even thought up a headline, "Cruel landlord kicks old man out of rented house for money." Then he took some pictures of the old tenant and also took some pictures of the rented house.
The journalist went and told his press owner about the incident. The owner of the press looked at the pictures and was shocked. He asked the journalist, did he know the old man? The journalist said no.
The next day the big news appeared on the front page of the newspaper. The title was "Gulzarilal Nanda, the former Prime Minister of India, leading a miserable life". It was further written in the news that how the former Prime Minister was unable to pay the rent and how he was thrown out of the house. It was commented that nowadays freshers also earn a lot of money. Whereas a person who has been a former Prime Minister twice and has also been a Union Minister for a long time, does not even have a house of his own.
Actually Gulzarilal Nanda got Rs. 500/- per month allowance was available. But he had rejected this money saying that he did not fight for the allowance of freedom fighters. Later friends forced him to accept saying that he had no other source of origin. With this money, he used to live by paying his rent.
The next day the current Prime Minister sent ministers and officials with a fleet of vehicles to their homes. The landlord was stunned to see the fleet of so many VIP vehicles. It was then that he came to know that his tenant, Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda was the former Prime Minister of India. The landlord immediately bowed down at the feet of Gulzarilal Nanda for his misbehavior.
Officials and VIPs requested Gulzarilal Nanda to accept government accommodation and other facilities. Mr. Gulzarilal Nanda did not accept his offer by saying that what is the use of such facilities in this old age. Till his last breath, he lived as a true Gandhian, like an ordinary citizen. In 1997, the government honored him with the Bharat Ratna.
Just compare his life with the politicians of the present times.
(Posted on 15th,Jan 2022 - 23rd anniversary of his death, courtesy)
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