Tihar to Talkatora, Roy's emotional yatra

Overjoyed workers in tears break into impromptu dances at some places

Last Friday, the Talkatora stadium in New Delhi had an unusual visitor.

The lamp posts on roads leading up to the stadium had yellow flex banners with Hindi verses welcoming the guests. Smiling from those banners was a younger looking Subrata Roy, the chief of the Sahara group. Some banners also had pictures of O P Srivastava, Roy's trusted lieutenant and deputy managing worker of the group.

The banners were conspicuous around the airport and lined the inner ring road leading right up to Greater Kailash, where the group has a property.

The stadium, which hosted boxing competitions during the Commonwealth Games and has an official capacity of about 3,000 people, was the latest stop on Roy's country wide Abhaar Yatra that insiders describe as an "emotionally charged" one. 67-year-old Roy often emphasises on the importance of emotions and has admitted to taking many business decisions based on emotional considerations.

Not very long ago, Roy was lodged in the Tihar jail, a few kilometers from the stadium. Released provisionally in early May to attend his mother's funeral, Roy has been going around the country to express his gratitude to people who stood by him through his 26-month incarceration.

The Supreme Court, which had initially restricted movement to Lucknow, had allowed Roy to move within the country while extending the provisional release till July.

Roy, along with two directors of group firms Sahara India Real Estate Corp and Sahara Housing Invest Corp, were sent to Tihar by the Supreme Court in March 2014 for not complying with its orders to repay with interest Rs 24,029 crore collected from over 29.6 million investors.

Between 2008 and 2011, these companies had raised this money through the issue of optionally fully convertible debentures, which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) found wanting on regulatory clearances.

Roy's return is a morale booster for the group's million-strong work force, which was lying low due to the group's troubles that came with those Sebi proceedings, that began six years ago.

"People were happy to see him back. There have been emotional outbursts. I have seen people crying, when he touches them," said a Sahara executive, who was present in some of these gatherings. Some places like Kolkata and Hyderabad have seen workers breaking into "impromptu" dances in joy.

In little over a week, Roy has met his workers and well wishers in Lucknow, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Nagpur, Raipur, Kolkata and Guwahati, besides Delhi. After a break this week, more trips are lined up for next week, the executive added.

Insiders say in each of these events, attendance was between 5,000 and 10,000. The group claims to have a million strong worker network including a large number of agents who work on commission basis, in over 4,000 locations across the country.

"Saharashri (as Roy is called) wants to personally thank everyone who has stood by the company. It would be a logistical nightmare to get each and everyone to Lucknow. That's why he decided to undertake this yatra (journey)," the group executive said.

A typical visit begins with workers receiving him at the airport with the group's trademark flags and placards from where Roy moves to his hotel. The main event, which is typically arranged in an indoor stadium, begins around 1.30 and goes on till "dinner time."

"Saharashri likes to give lectures to his workers. Even before he went to jail, we used to have these sessions, which usually include high tea and dinner. These events are similar to that," said a person who attended the event.

One added attraction for the participants is that they get to hear the wisdom shared in Roy's book, Life Mantras, which he wrote in jail. The group claims it was on national best seller lists a couple of weeks following its publication in February.

Sahara chief Subrata Roy, in prison in Delhi since March 2014 at Lucknow airport after being allowed to leave prison for four weeks for the funeral of his mother Chhabi Roy. (Photo: PTI)

In couple of places such as Kolkata and Hyderabad, people even broke into dance at the sight of their czar, who likes to call himself Managing Worker.

It was not all song and dance everywhere, though. In Cuttack, Roy had to cancel his programme after authorities clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144, after some groups threatened protests, a report by IANS said last week.

Roy was to meet potential buyers for his property and other ways of raising funds to pay the dues, which according to Sebi calculations have swelled to around Rs 40,000 crore. The group has so far deposited nearly Rs 10,000 crore. The court had also asked him to help the asset sale process initiated by Sebi through HDFC Realty and SBI Capital markets. About 60 of the group's properties, estimated to be worth around Rs 6,000 crore, across the country have been put on sale through an e-auction platform.

In addition, Roy is required to pay Rs 200 crore by July 11 and another Rs 300 crore by first week of August, as part of the conditions for his provisional release.

"That, he is working on separately," the Sahara executive said.