State Ministers’ performance not up to the mark, says Naik

In an exclusive interview with The Indian Express, Ram Naik, who was elected thrice to the State Assembly and four times to the Lok Sabha said: “It is true that I am senior enough and there is no complaint against me from any quarter of the organisation… my performance as MP is also unique but despite that some juniors have been given Cabinet rank. If the outsiders feel that I should have been given Cabinet post, they areright.”

“It was compulsion for both the Prime Minister and the BJP-led coalition Government, I have been given lower ministerial berth,” Ram Naik observed. He, however, said, “for me, work is more important and not the post. I enjoy full confidence of the Prime Minister and all the ministries and the departments, which I am holding, are under direct control of the Prime Minister,” he said.

Besides State Minister for Railways, Ram Naik was also holding additional charges of Parliamentary Affairs and State of Jammu and Kashmir, State Minister for Planning and Programme implementation and the Non-Conventional Energy Department. In addition to that “I feel proud of being given charge to reply questions to the Parliament,” he said.

Making scathing attack on the media, especially the English press for creating, what he said, “motivated campaign” against the BJP and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Ram Naik said “in Maharashtra BJP and Shiv Sena are two different parties and their style of functioningare different which many times reflects in such a way that outsiders feel that there are differences.”

Admitting organisational faults which caused serious setback both for the BJP and the Shiv Sena in the last Lok Sabha elections, Ram Naik said “the defeat was collective.” However, they would leave no stone unturned to eliminate differences, if any, in mobilising forces in the State to restore their lost glory.

Replying to a query, he said that “we just cannot blame Pramod Mahajan, who was in-charge of the election, for the defeat. No one can be held responsible for the defeat in Maharashtra. It was a collective defeat for the party.” Elaborating the poll debacle, he said that the reasons of their defeat in 1998 were the same reasons of their victory in 1996.

In 1996, he said, there were two sections among themselves in Maharashtra and added to that there were three sections of Republican Parties — Athouli group, Prakash Ambedkar Group and Gawai Group. Since there were traingular fight, we couldwin with good margin. However, in 1998 most of the political parties in the State, the two Congress group came together and supported by three sections of Republican Parties and also the Samajwadi Party (Muslim League) which led their defeat.

“In Maharashtra,” he said, “we have consciously developed young BJP workers, especially those who are less than 15 years of our age have been given important posts. Like Gopinath Munde, the Deputy Chief Minister, Prakash Dawrekar, Deputy Chairman of Maharashtra Planning Board. We want party to work more effectively.”

On appointment of Pramod Mahajan as Political Advisor to the Prime Minister, Ram Naik said: “Youth should be given opportunity.”