Rajiv Gandhi confidant Gopi Arora is dead (Lead)

Gopi Arora, a close aide of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who wielded enormous power and authority in the 1980s, died Thursday. He was 76.

Arora joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1957. He was special secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) before becoming secretary in the information and broadcasting ministry. Arora was also finance secretary in 1989-90, serving the government for over 35 years in several prestigious positions.

In Rajiv Gandhi's time, it was widely believed that Arora had more authority than most ministers and was familiar with his political master's thinking.

"He (Arora) actually played the role of Socrates to Rajiv Gandhi. In the initial years, Gandhi depended on him a lot and Arora was for those years his political guru," said a former bureaucrat, who did want to be named.

He was among those named in the initial Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheets in the Bofors kickback scandal and the investigating agency had formally requested the government then to launch prosecution against Arora and former defence secretary S.K. Bhatnagar.

Arora, liked and feared by many, also served as an executive director representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Sri Lanka at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington from 1990 to 1993. In addition, he was also economic minister posted in Moscow from 1975-78.

The low-key Arora was rewarded with some envied assignments for his loyalty to the Gandhi family.

"Gopi was a wonderful colleague. I have known him for so long, first when I was posted as special assistant in Moscow and then as foreign policy advisor in the PMO. He had a profound influence on policy matters and his role was invaluable," Ronen Sen, India's former ambassador to the US who worked in the Gandhi PMO, told IANS.

"What is important to know is that his (Arora's) job did not define him. But he defined the role."

Another colleague, R. Vasudevan, who was Arora's colleague in the PMO, said: "He had a capacious intellect and that was encased in a dimunitive body."

"Gopi was a past master in the art of political economy. From Marxist predilections, he became a proponent of reform."

After his retirement Arora was on the board of several companies and was chairman of the Noida Toll Bridge Company and Roto Pumps. He was the director of the Jaypee Group at the time of his death.

Family members said Arora had been ailing for some months. He is survived by his wife, Indu and sons, Ashish and Amitabh.

A postgraduate in history from Allahabad University, Arora also held a masters diploma in public administration from Harvard University.

His cremation will be held Saturday, his family said.

Last updated on Nov 6^th, 2009 at 16:04 pm IST--IANS