"Secular front could be a New Year gift to the nation"

Former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has an uncanny knack for converting adverse situations to his favour. He projected his charge-sheeting by the CBI in the fodder scam as “a conspiracy against the poor”. Just before going to prison, he not only installed his wife Rabri Devi as the State’s Chief Minister but ensured a bigger legislative majority for her despite the break-up of the Janata Dal. Now out on bail, he discusses his plans to play a pivotal role in national politics with Yogesh Vajpeyi.Excerpts:

I have now decided to devote my time to national politics. And I have decided to launch a new secular front because some members of the United Front had deviated from their path and were hobnobbing with the BJP and anti-national forces. They had even joined the chorus against me to achieve this objective because they knew that their game-plan would not succeed unless they removed me.

But the contours of your front are still not clear! Who will be in it? Will it have a common manifesto and a common programme?

You will get your answers soon. I am talking to a number of senior political leaders who have a vision for the India of tomorrow. I have talked to Sitaram Kesri, Ramakrishna Hegde, Kanshi Ram and others. The response is encouraging. The constitution of the front and its programmes would be announced shortly. It could be a New Year gift to the nation!

Who will be your enemy number one?

Of course, the BJP and its allies who believe in ruling the people by dividing them in the name of religion. But we have to beware of the fifth column among self-proclaimed secular leaders also.

And who will be your friends?

The Congress, the RJD and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha have already agreed to join hands in Bihar. I am also approaching other national leaders like Chandra Shekhar. But our most reliable friends are the poor people of India. These are the people about whom our rivals never think about. They are only interested in power sharing.

Will you contest the Lok Sabha elections? They say you are hoping to become the Prime Minister of India.

I have not decided about contesting elections. But I can play a role in national politics even without contesting also. I have no wish to rule the people of India. I only want to serve them and perform my duty as a citizen of India by raising issues which concern the poor and the downtrodden. India now needs someone like (Mahatma) Gandhi and JP (Jayaprakah Narayan) who understood the needs and aspirations of the people in different regions and were prepared to fight for them. They never hankered for an office.

But were you not ruling from the jail through proxy by installing your wife as the Chief Minister of Bihar? If I had been only interested in power, I would have accepted the offer to become the Chief Minister again the moment I came out of jail. But I said: `No, let a woman retain the reigns of power.’ I will concentrate my energy on fighting communal forces which are threatening the very social fabric of my country.

But your State is also in the throes of a vicious caste war, as demonstrated by the Laxmanpur-Bathe carnage. Don’t you think it was the responsibility of the Bihar Government to prevent such an incident?

The Bathe tragedy was a conspiracy hatched by the BJP leaders patronising the Ranveer Sena to destabilise the RJD Government run by a woman. They killed innocent poor people who were supporters of my party. The victims are the followers of the RJD legislator from the area, Ravindra Singh. When I went to the village with the CM immediately after my release from jail, the villagers came out to say that they were with me in the fight against their exploiters. They said the killers were shouting `Itni lashen gira do ki Rabri ki sarkar chale jaye (Kill such a large number of people that the Centre dismisses the Rabri Government)’.

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What do you think of the CBI charge-sheet against you in the fodder scam? The BJP says that you talk of a conspiracy whenever you are in trouble.

I have full faith in the judiciary and am confident that it will expose the conspiracy against me. BJP leader and UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh has also been charge-sheeted. In fact, he has been even convicted by the Supreme Court. Did the CBI ever talk of arresting him? In my case, they even went to the extent of seeking the Army’s assistance against all administrative and judicial norms. Even the Supreme Court has castigated the CBI for their malicious action and this proves my point.

Why have the Left parties, which were once your allies, turned against you?

The Left parties are being run on the basis of an ideology borrowed from outside. They talk of class struggle while I talk of social justice. They believe in revolution, we believe in social transformation. The people are with us because we worked to restore their self-respect and gave them a share in governance at all levels.

What is the difference between you and the Left parties on fighting communalism?

The Left is not fighting communalism. In West Bengal and Kerala, they are fighting the Congress. It is the parties like the RJD, the Congress and the BSP which are fighting the BJP and its allies at the ground level. The Left’s blind anti-Congressism is aimed at preserving their rule in the two States.

Do you think your proposed front will have the requisite numbers in the next Lok Sabha to form a non-BJP government? Or do you visualise realignments after elections?

I think we will be able to check the BJP. In Bihar, it will, be wiped out. As for political alignments and realignments, these are made in response to a specific situation. We will do all that is in our power to defeat the BJP and will welcome anyone who wants to join us in doing this. But there will be no compromise on basic issues like self-respect of the oppressed people, unity of the nation and national interest.

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"Secular front could be a New Year gift to the nation"

Former Bihar chief minister Laloo Prasad Yadav has an uncanny knack for converting adverse situations to his favour. He projected his charg...