All those who deserted Congress will lose: AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge

The Tribune Interview: Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said the opposition INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) parties would form the next government and were firmly placed to get the numbers they need to prevent the BJP from returning to power. In an exclusive interview with Aditi Tandon, Kharge spoke on a range of subjects from serial desertions by party leaders, plans on fulfilling ambitious poll guarantees, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “urban Naxal” remarks for AAP and the absence of former PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi from active poll scene. Excerpts:

Punjab is witnessing a multi-cornered contest in the Lok Sabha poll. Will it hurt Congress’ prospects?

There could be a problem at one or two places, but we are strategising to win the maximum number of seats. We won’t disclose our plans because if we do, the BJP will counter-strategise, like Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said in Ludhiana that Ravneet Bittu is his old friend. Like that they want to divide us. Those who have left have left. We are not worried about them. Let them keep extending favours to poach people from other parties. This election is between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people and the people have decided — Modi ab bas.

In Punjab especially, farmers are a very important factor and they are very upset with the government.

Are serial desertions by Congress leaders a concern?

Even if one person goes, we lose one vote. But when someone betrays and goes, others come to us and say that those who left benefited so much from the party — someone was a CM, someone a CLP leader, someone a party president. So even their sympathisers become our lawyers.

The desertions will prove counterproductive. All those who have gone will lose elections. If they think they will gain by joining the BJP, they are wrong.

What is the opposition INDIA bloc’s assessment after six phases of polling?

We don’t talk in thin air like the BJP which says ‘400 paar, 600 paar’…. Our feedback is that we will have the numbers we need to defeat the BJP and to oust PM Modi from power. We already have the numbers and one phase is left.

You have convened a meeting of the INDIA bloc on June 1. What’s the agenda?

We have called the meeting to plan for the counting day, June 4, how to stay alert, how to prevent malpractices, check that returning officers don’t succumb to administrative and political pressures. None of our agents should leave the counting station till the counting is over and reconfirmations, if required, happen. Some people leave the stations thinking they are winning and later additional votes surface. We will tell everyone to stay alert at the counting stations till the last vote is counted and also sit for recounting if any. We are trying to train people for this.

You have promised a legal guarantee for the MSP, how soon can you implement it, if elected?

Our attention will immediately go to the promises made through our 25 guarantees and nyays including kisan nyaya. Where we can do things immediately, we will. Where we need the help of the law department, we will proceed accordingly. There will be no room for delay no matter how difficult it is for us.

Why have you been silent on AAP MP Swati Maliwal’s assault?

I have been busy with the election campaign. This is a Delhi matter and our local leaders have spoken. The law should take its course.

In an interview to The Tribune, the PM has said the ruling AAP in Punjab mirrors the ideology of urban Naxals. Your comments?

Modi ji does not understand his stature as PM of a major democratic nation of 140 crore people and nearly 100 crore voters. What is his assessment of 100 crore voters when he says these things? He says he wants to become Vishwa Guru. Is this how one becomes a Vishwa Guru, by talking about mutton, chicken, mangalsutra, buffaloes, mujra…. Such phrases should not be uttered. A PM should not lie. First, he called us urban Naxals. Now, he is calling AAP the same names. He is habituated to uttering “apshabd” (invectives) when he can’t find a suitable word. This does not behove of a PM who wants to be Vishwa Guru.

The PM has said had BR Ambedkar not been there, Jawaharlal Nehru would not have given quotas to SCs, STs and OBCs.

The reservation debate is rooted in the pre-Independence Poona Pact of 1932 between BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. Reservation is the outcome of that pact which shaped the political representation of the depressed classes, the SCs. Mahatma Gandhi had a hand in making BR Ambedkar chairman of the Constitution drafting committee. The constituent assembly, Pt Nehru, everyone accepted this. They speak against Pt Nehru. What were they? They were always anti-reservation, anti-Constitution, anti-Tricolour.

You have promised major poll sops. Where will the money come from?

We have promised Rs 1 lakh annually to women per household, Rs 1 lakh stipend to the educated youth annually, a farm loan waiver and Rs 400 minimum wages. This is possible. The caste census will be the first thing. On the basis of its outcomes, we will see who is to be helped. There will be parameters for eligibility and a five-year plan will be drafted.

You said a five-year plan. Will you revive the Planning Commission?

Yes, of course. We will revive the Planning Commission in consultation with INDI Alliance leaders so that we can invest resources in weaker sectors.

The PM has accused you of favouring Muslims. He has flagged Muslim quota within the OBC quota in Karnataka. Your comments?

Muslims are common citizens of India. Have we given anything special to them? Even in the BJP-ruled Gujarat, they have put 14 communities in the OBC list. States classify people in their own way. Why is the BJP raising today what they themselves have been doing? If someone is poor should we not help them? They have enacted laws which require people converting to Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism to take prior approval from district magistrates. Why?

How difficult is this period for the Congress which has struggled in the past two election cycles?

The Congress is a 139 year old party. It was not formed for politics. The Congress was formed to attain freedom. Later it followed Pt Nehru’s middle path to run the nation, which was neither a capitalistic nor a communist route. We have to principally follow the Nehruvian path and adapt to changing situations, support industry, but not those who loot as the present dispensation is doing by favouring businesses that are pro-BJP and neglecting others.

How big a factor is former PM Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi’s absence from the active poll scene?

Nature has its own ways. Their absence pinches us. Had they been stronger health wise, we would have benefited a lot from their presence …though they continue to guide us.

n Are you forming the next government?

Based on the data and inputs we are getting, we can say yes.