This businessman son of an ex-prime minister is in some ways the demonstration of the possibilities of politics. Naresh Gujral’s father was prime minister in a keep-the-BJP-out-at-any-cost coalition. The son has been elected to the Rajya Sabha as an MP from Akali Dal, a BJP ally. Naresh had contested the 2004 Lok Sabha elections from Jalandhar and later became a member of the Akali think-tank. He was a member of the manifesto committee of the party in the recently concluded assembly elections. The BJP has changed, Naresh told Varghese K. George in an interview, and so has politics; the Akalis are a party for Punjab now. Socialism is a misused conncept, says the Akali Rajya Sabha member, and SEZs should be welcomed as long as they create jobs. Excerpts:• For someone who pays more than Rs 60 lakh in income tax, going to politics full-time could mean a huge monetary loss? My businesses are on an autopilot and 60 lakh is only the personal income tax that I paid. My company pays more. I started off with Rs 500 in 1974 and now I have made my money and it is pay-back time. I do not have dirty money and do not plan to make dirty money. I am into politics full time, and my business will not require more than a couple of hours of my time a week. • You are already recognised as a social worker — running a school, an orphanage and a care home. Why plunge into politics at all? A seat in Parliament means a lot of voice. There are many issues that I want to work on, but it needs networking, lobbying, pressurising. Being a member of the parliament from an established political party, helps in taking such issues forward. The state has to help the poor. As a member of the Akali Dal manifesto committee, I could give inputs on the 4-rupees-a-kilo atta and dal for Rs 20. • Are you a socialist? Socialism is a misused concept in India. I am all for unshackling private enterprise. Liberalise further. But government policies should benefit the poor. • You do not find any contradiction between a market economy and an interventionist government? I am all for market and competition. Government should do two things — ensure law and order and protect the poor by giving then basic livelihood, health and education. Otherwise there will be social unrest, anarchy. • But as the opposition, Akalis had opposed big private players in Punjab — for instance, Reliance entering farm sector. Will you do the same thing now that you are in government? What we opposed was profiteering from land transactions — taking away farmers land and selling it at exorbitant prices. That said, Reliance is welcome and everyone is welcome who can help Punjab increase productivity and get its farmers a good price for their produce. • You will continue with Amarinder’s SEZ policy? We want industrialisation of Punjab and SEZs are certainly welcome. But the bottomline is how many jobs they create. Land allotment for SEZs will be linked to the number of jobs that they create. Punjab’s number of unemployed youth is swelling, causing several anomalies including drug abuse. We need to absorb them into the industrial economy and that is a priority of the Akali government. And there will be mechanism to ensure that all land acquisition in the state is transparent. • But how could you join Akali Dal? Some say it is a party for which protection of the panth is more important than this — worldly matters. We are living in dynamic times. As everything else, Akali Dal has changed. With people like me taking an active role, it has changed into a “Punjab” party, a party that raises the issues concerning the entire state. We did not raise any religious issue in this election. Most of our MLAs are below 50, well educated. On the contrary, the Congress tried to gain votes with the help of sects like Sachcha Sauda. • What about BJP? Despite his friendship with the Akalis, your father voted against the BJP in Parliament in 1999. Eight years is a long time. Even the BJP has changed. The debate on secularism and communalism has undergone a big change. I abhor what happened in Gujarat. But the emergence of the middle class and media has tempered all parties, including the BJP. Every party in this country realises that unless the minorities feel safe, they cannot rule. In Punjab, Muslims voted for us. • Your government has charged former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in a land scam. Is this not political vendetta that you have been crying foul against? It is not. The evidence against Amarinder Singh in the Ludhiana land scam is so overwhelming that he will go to jail. We will be failing in our duty if we do not prosecute them. This is not political vendetta, but rule of law.
