‘Umaji contributed to success in MP, but party is the victor’

• Since it is widely accepted that Uma Bharati played a key role in winning Madhya Pradesh for the BJP, don’t you think that it is only right that she should rule the State, especially now that the charges against her have been cleared?
Subhash C Agrawal

I have always been of the opinion that it is the party that is bigger than any individual. Umaji has contributed towards the success of the party in the State, but if you look at it from a bigger perspective, it is the party which emerged victorious. The people of the State voted wholeheartedly for the BJP. We have registered a huge victory in Nagar Palika, Panchayats and Mandi elections recently, but if I take credit for that it will be wrong. At the end of the day, it is the party which won.

• In the midst of the Advani-Jinnah controversy, senior BJP leaders like you should have supported your party chief instead of lashing out against him, and thus ruining the party’s image of a disciplined party. Please comment.
Madhu Agrawal

My statement on Jinnah does not contradict what Advaniji said in Pakistan. In fact, even he has insisted that his statement should be viewed in the proper perspective. I only stated that a person who supported the two-nation theory cannot be called secular. Jinnah was the one who was responsible for division of the country and deaths of thousands of people during Partition, so how can he be called secular? Advaniji tried to make the same point in Pakistan — that after Partition, Jinnah wanted his country to be secular but that did not happen. My statement on Jinnah has never been in contravention to what our party president said in Pakistan.

• The Congress lost power in the State due to inadequate focus on infrastructure development. But after over a year-and-a-half of BJP rule, nothing much seems to have changed on the ground; there is load shedding in rural areas, power cuts in cities and the roads are still dilapidated. Please comment.
B C Saxena

Our focus is infrastructure development and we have not lost sight of it. We have completed 12,000 kms of road construction. Even in villages, 4,700 kms of roads have been built. Though we are facing some problems in the power sector, the situation is far better than what it was during Digvijay Singh’s rule. By 2007, after getting all our power plants fully operational, we will be self-sufficient and there will be no power cuts. Even on the drinking and irrigation water front, we have improved the situation. So there is no basis in the allegation that infrastructure in the State continues to be bad.

• There is a general belief that due to infighting in the party, you have not been able to focus on developmental issues.
J L Prajapati

There is no dissension in the party. The high command has given me a mandate to serve the people of the State for a full term, and I am wholeheartedly set on my mission to take the State forward on the road to economic success. It is only because of our focused approach that the State has got investment proposals worth Rs 30,000 crores. We have developed industrial clusters and the major business houses are keen to come to the State. There are no distractions and our approach is development-centric.

• Your decision to make Vande Mataram mandatory in government offices and schools has drawn criticism from various quarters including the Congress. In a democratic country how can you impose your decisions on others?
J Dave

It’s a pity that some people tried to extract political mileage out of my decision to introduce the rendition of Vande Mataram in government offices and before Cabinet meetings. The opposition is a manifestation of parochial political outlook and disrespect to the Constitution of India. Statements of protest against Vande Mataram have hurt the feelings of patriots. Describing the decision as part of a hidden agenda exposes the ignorance towards the history of India’s freedom movement. Besides, the rendition is voluntary and not compulsory. All of us should make an attempt to respect the national song.

• Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh has rarely criticised your decisions. In fact, he has supported you on several occasions including your stand on Vande Mataram. Is there some tacit understanding between you and him?
S Qureshi

Maybe he is so impressed with our work that he is not able to flay my government. I have always believed in healthy criticism. Don’t criticise just for the sake of criticism. I have appreciated senior Congress leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. That doesn’t mean that I have a tacit understanding with the Congress.