Sant Singh Chatwal

NRI hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal was sailing in the Caribbean on his yacht - having flown there in his private plane - when Sunday Times reached him for an interview on the raging controversy over the Padma Bhushan award to him. The feisty sardar says he never sought the award, there are no criminal cases against him, and his ties with entire Indian political spectrum are intact. Excerpts from his conversation with Chidanand Rajghatta :

Let’s deal first with the question of bank defaults that you’ve been accused of. Have you ever defaulted to banks?
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about this. In 1989-90, there was a big economic downturn and a real estate collapse. Most of my business was real estate. When this happens in America, there is attempt to restructure loans, there is a re-evaluation of assets. I went through it in a court-ordered procedure... there was nothing fraudulent.

Were Indian banks among your lenders?
I dealt with 16 or 17 banks and there were three Indian banks among them. They lent me about 7-8% of my borrowing.

So, why are there these persistent reports of fraud?
This happens because many people don’t understand how the business and entrepreneurial system works in America. I have never borrowed a rupee from banks in India and there is no question of fraud. If there was the slightest whiff of fraud, do you think Presidents, ministers, and secretaries would walk into my home?

Why would presidents and political leaders come to you? What is the secret of your political connections?
My father was a Partition-era refugee from Rawalpindi who settled in Faridkot. We were eight children and the best thing he did, even though he was a trader, was to give us a good education. I loved flying and got into the Naval Flying School in Cochin and then moved to Ethiopia. I moved to America when the government there was overthrown and everything was nationalized.

So where did the politics kick in?
Stephen Solarz, who was a Congressman, used to come to my restaurant in New York. Those days we had a buffet for $5.95. He liked us, he was fond of India, and we became friends. Once we had a fund-raiser for him and we raised some $2,000-$3,000. He was a little disappointed. I asked my manager in Punjabi to cut post-dated cheques for $5,000 and to make sure it would not bounce. Solarz caught on to the word “bounce” and asked what was the problem. I explained that I was not rich but I wanted to help him because he was a friend of India. He hugged me and said he had found an honest friend.

How did the Indian political connections start?
Once Mrs (Indira) Gandhi came to New York and we did the catering for her when she went to Montreal where I had my first restaurant. Then in 1978-79, I went with Solarz to India and we got an appointment with Mrs Gandhi. Gopi Arora was her PS, Romesh Bhandari was foreign secretary, and doctor saab (Manmohan Singh) was finance secretary. I have known them all from those days. In 1985, I arranged a meeting of 20 Sikh leaders with Rajiv Gandhi in New York.

This was after Operation Bluestar and Mrs Gandhi’s assassination?
Yes. Many Sikhs accused me of being a Congress agent. There was a lot of anger about the Golden Temple incident. But I said I was working for India.

So how did the connections with the Clintons, whose friendship with you is best-known, happen?
Well, Solarz arranged a meeting with Bill Clinton when he was running for president. No one thought he had a chance to win but I cut him post-dated cheques for $25,000, saying he should cash them slowly. He laughed and said, “Looks like you need the money more than I do.” Bill and Hillary have never forgotten my friendship. When he became President, my family was the first they invited to White House for dinner.

How much money have you contributed to the US political system? What is in it for you?
May be $10 million or more. Look, honestly, I have no agenda other than to help India. Of course, I like power and access. But I never ask them for any position and I am not affiliated to any party. I worked tirelessly for India during the BJP (NDA) government and again during the Congress government.

How does that happen? Most people go one way or the other.
You know how it works in the restaurant business - people come to eat and drink in my restaurants in New York and Washington. Vajpayee saab was very fond of food...I packed fish for him even when he went to visit his family in Connecticut. I have known Gujral saab since he was an MP. Even Narasimha Rao and VP Singh. Doctor saab (Manmohan Singh) used to come to the World Bank/IMF very close to my restaurant and used to drop by.

So why are so many officials, including ambassadors, opposed to giving you the Padma award?
I have got along well with many ambassadors, but sometimes it becomes an ego thing. Ambassadors want me to report everything through them, but sometimes it is not possible. I cannot tell them what Hillary tells me in private. One ambassador was very upset that I took Clinton to Lucknow for Amar Singh’s function, but I had to tell him that I am not a party person. I do not work for the Congress Party. Sometimes, officials get upset when ministers contact me directly or come to my home, but you have to understand that these are relationships I have had for many, many years...

How did the Padma Bhushan come about? Did you seek it?
See, never in my life have I asked for any award. I am a proud man. I can make millions of dollars if I spend the same time on business as I do on politics. I made 48 trips to Washington for the nuclear deal, going to Capitol Hill to lobby with Senators and Congressman. I did it for India without expectation.