‘I can’t repay the karz of my birthplace but at least now I can give something back’: Kripashankar Singh

I never disconnected from my roots in Jaunpur. It was my majboori that I was here (in Mumbai). The happiness of being in a village is like the old days when we used to go for a one-month holiday and then each day we tried to extend our stay. When the party said you have to contest the election from Jaunpur, I can’t explain my happiness on going back to my roots again. I can’t repay the karz of my birthplace, but at least now I can give something back.

 Your political base has been Mumbai, so won’t Jaunpur be more challenging? 

I never lost personal connect in Jaunpur. In the past, every two months I have visited Jaunpur and I did whatever I could do. However, this election is for Narendra Modi ji and when I went there I got support from everyone across, all castes and communities. I met many people and they all said, they don’t have their MP (Member of Parliament). The local leaders whom I spoke to said whenever they went to Delhi for any work, they were told that they don’t have their MP. People are now regretting why they didn’t vote for the BJP candidate last time.

 There is a big caste-based politics in UP and your constituency is dominated by Yadavs, how will that have an impact?

Wherever I have gone, I haven’t seen caste-based equation in politics. One thing is sure that people want to be with Narendra Modi ji in my constituency. People say that Yadavs will vote for Samajwadi Party, others will vote for BSP, but I know that people will vote for BJP. People will back Modiji for his work done in the last ten years both in the country and in UP.

 BJP is in talks with Raj Thackeray’s MNS, which has had a chequered relationship with North Indian community. How will you convince people back home?

I haven’t thought about it and I too have been seeing this on news channels. So, it won’t be right for me to comment on it now.

 While you left Congress in 2021, there are many others in the state who have quit recently. What is the reason behind?

They (Congress) have lost ideology. Nation is and always should come first, party comes after that. I never betrayed Congress, I rebelled. I didn’t join any party for 20-months despite getting various offers. I had written a letter to the high command asking how Congress can oppose removal of Article 370?, but there was no reply. I’m not an opportunist. Even now they didn’t accept the invitation to visit Ram Mandir. How can they do this? Ram belongs to everyone, be it Hindu or Muslim.

Many say that you can adjust yourself anywhere, how do you see your journey? 

When I came from Jaunpur, I lived in a small 10×10 feet chawl in Dhobi Ghat of Jawahar Nagar in Khar East. When I became an MLC, I got a two-room house, which was used for people from UP, especially those who came for treatment of cancer. Then I became Home Minister of Maharashtra, it was a big thing for any North Indian living here. There is a famous line of poet Gulzar and I relate myself to that, “Mein aksar mitti par baith jaya karta hoon, mujhe apni aukat achi lagti hai.”