145;Gujarat formula cannot work again and again146;

What if BJP pulls Gujarat in Maharashtra...Let us see how they sustain it. What they did in Gujarat was to incite and excite base human emot...

What if BJP pulls Gujarat in Maharashtra8230;
Let us see how they sustain it. What they did in Gujarat was to incite and excite base human emotions, a feeling of revenge for political gain and the danga fasaad, which is still going on in Gujarat. This cannot work again and again. It could work only post-Godhra in a limited geographic area, not even all over Gujarat. For so many years they have not been able to sell it and that is the reason why they had to tie up with other parties. Inside their own ranks there are differences on what they should do. Look at how the Prime Minister in his New Year musings spoke about Hinduism in a different way. Nobody is fighting Hinduism. What we want is economic development and social peace, something that will keep India united.

How will you combat Hindutva post-Gujarat?
The idea is not to combat Hindutva. It8217;s not clear as to what exactly is the definition given to Hindutva. We have definitely said that Hindutva is not Hinduism. In any case, their commitment to Hinduism is only skin deep. In Madhya Pradesh in Ujjain there is this small issue of giving land for religious purposes for the forthcoming Kumbh and see how they have got stuck over it.

How are you going to encapsulate what you stand for clearly so that people understand it?
Sonia Gandhi launched the party campaign in Madhya Pradesh by a programme on Swami Vivekanand8217;s birthday called Jhanda ooncha rahe hamara that is synonymous with patriotism. This campaign is going to be taken down to every block of the country so we have nationalism of the type that we are familiar with, say, of Bhagat Singh, or of Subhash Chandra Bose.

Is this going to be your main plank, say, in HP?
This is part of the projection the Congress will put forward in Himachal. The other plank will be development. We will definitely talk about what the Congress means by good governance, a secular polity, nationalism and patriotism.

Are you going to tie up with Sukh Ram8217;s party in Himachal?
As in Gujarat, so also in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress President has asked Mohsina Kidwai, who is the general secretary incharge of Himachal, and Virbhadra Singh and Vidya Stokes to look into this. Nothing concrete has been decided yet.

The Congress has expressed an openness after Gujarat to go in for alliances. Does this constitute a shift away from Panchmarhi?
In Panchmarhi, we took a decision that the state units would advise the national leadership about the ground realities if an alliance or seat adjustments were considered necessary. In Gujarat, Sonia Gandhi had authorised the general secretary incharge and a team to look into matter, and they advised that except for an alliance with the CPI and the CPM, there was no need for one with any other party.

Why did you change the CM in Maharashtra?
Despite many warnings, the party and the government were not working cohesively for a long time.

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Will the MPCC chief be changed?
If both were responsible for creating that situation 8212; and this was the feeling in the state 8212; then both would have to go. It was a case of the party criticising the government.