‘Such a big threat from a megalomaniac, all secular forces and Left should come together’

M Veerappa Moily is also a member of the Congress party’s pre-poll alliance subgroup.

New Delhi | February 7, 2014 12:19 AM IST

4 min read

Apart from running the two crucial ministries of environment & forests and petroleum & natural gas, M Veerappa Moily is also a member of the Congress party’s pre-poll alliance subgroup. In this interview, he makes a strong pitch for a rapprochment between the Congress and the Left parties:

The Congress is debating the validity of caste-based reservation. What’s your view?

Our founding fathers had an answer to every problem. Our Constitution is a conflict-resolution, reconciliation document. When the communal GO (Madras Presidency order of 1927 providing for caste-based reservation in jobs) was rejected by the Supreme Court, Nehru himself moved an amendment to the Constitution empowering the government to provide for special provisions for the socially and educationally backward classes. Nobody can be more secular than Nehru. People who speak against it (caste-based reservation) have no faith in the Congress philosophy of an inclusive society. Such talks would damage the edifice of the Congress party.

The rise in Narendra Modi’s popularity is being widely linked to his persona, the way he projects himself. Would you agree with the finance minister that there were communication failures on the part of your government and party?

He (Modi) wants to take advantage of certain distortions in the society, which occurred because of the global financial crisis. But all these years, our average GDP growth rate has been 7.7 per cent… What happens is that the Congress doesn’t do propaganda. We have to market our product. We have a quality product on both the financial and the social sides.

A senior Congress leader has opined that the party should not have formed the government in 2009. What is your view?

There was a big crisis in the country as the communists had withdrawn support to us over the nuclear deal. We had to aggressively market our policy (Indo-US nuclear deal) and it clicked. We came back with higher numbers in Parliament, from 145 to 206. Was it not the mandate of the people? If we had not formed the government, we would have looked foolish. No Congressmen should look disillusioned.

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You are a member of your party’s pre-poll alliance subgroup. Given your party’s equations with Mamata Banerjee, would you think of revisiting an alliance with the Left?

I think we should. After all, coalitions have to stay, especially when there is such a big threat from a megalomaniac and communal person like Modi. All secular forces and the Left should come together. Whatever the Left parties were thinking of (in the social sector), we have implemented. There is no reason for the Left to think otherwise. If they are really interested in secular politics, that is the call they have to take now. If they don’t respond, they will do the greatest disservice to secularism.

But the Left has tied up with the AIADMK and they are working on building some sort of a third front.

It is too early to call. If a third front comes, it will always be directed against communal forces. Anyway, that will not add any strength to the BJP or the NDA. No party can claim a full majority. Even if the Congress hopes to get a full majority and form the government, it may not (happen that way) . Therefore, the party should not run away from its national responsibility.

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You were AICC media department chairman once. What’s your take on Rahul Gandhi’s first TV interview, which is being termed as a disaster?

That is a question of perception but here is a leader who has never been greedy for power. Here is a family that has never been greedy for power. Had Rahul been greedy, he would have become PM in 2009.