Controversial godman Chandraswami is no more

 Controversial godman Chandraswami, who spent a lifetime cosying up to the rich and powerful, passed away on Tuesday after suffering a stroke. He was 66.

A loner in his later years, Chandraswami whose end was announced by doctors at Apollo Hospital, was on dialysis. He also suffered stroke followed by severe sepsis and developed multiple-organ failure.

He was often seen in the company of two former prime ministers --P V Narasimha Rao and Chandrashekhar -- and heads of state like British PM Margaret Thatcher, the Sultan of Brunei and the Bahrain ruler and glamorous figures like actress Elizabeth Taylor.

He seemed to know everyone — arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, Saddam Hussein, the al Fayed brothers. When al Fayed purchased Harrods, he was said to have been involved in the deal. 

Chandraswami's indulgence in politics of the 1990s saw a beeline of leaders seeking his benevolence for a parliamentary ticket or even a ministerial berth. At the height of the Ram Mandir agitation during the tenure of prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, Chandraswami even sought to play a broker.

Wearing a sparkling white dhoti, kurta and silk angavastram and a tilak prominent on his forehead, Chandraswami  was a virtually a permanent fixture in many a political gathering in the 1990s.

At one stage in the early days of P V Narasimha Rao's tenure,  Chandraswami managed to even convince Rao that India could easily tide over its immediate financial crisis as  Sultan of Brunei had agreed to extend a line of credit, claims a book by former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh.

Rao took it so seriously that a plane was ready to fly the then Finance Minister to meet the Sultan, says Ramesh.

Born Nemi Chand Gandhi, he rose from being an astrologer in Hyderabad to a "tantrik swami" who could swing big deals worldwide. He was son of a money lender, Dharma Chand Gandhi Jain hailing from Behror in Rajasthan.

Chandraswami's name figured in the report of the Jain Commission, in its comprehensive report, alleged that Chandraswami was involved in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

But, by 1996, Chandraswami's fortunes seemed to dwindle. He was arrested in 1996 for allegedly defrauding a businessman in London. He also faced multiple charges of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

As his troubles mounted, Chandraswami's constant response was "I have been created and hyped by the media. Do I look harmful? I am a man of god. I serve my people. I have never done anything wrong. I have many missions, ask the poor people whom I help." 

The Supreme Court even questioned why no action was initiated against him if the government really suspected he funded the assassination of the former Prime Minister by Srilankan Tamil terrorist group, the LTTE.

In 2009, the Supreme Court had lifted ban on his travel ban.  In June 2011, the ED had imposed a fine of Rs 9 crore on Chandraswami  for FERA violations. At one time, a raid by the income tax department on one of his ashrams at one time yielded paper trail of  original payment drafts to Khashoggi, amounting to $11 million.