‘People of Gujarat have left no space for Opposition… I construe it as directive to keep mum’: Senior Congress leader

* The Congress has seen some more leaders leave for the BJP, including former state chief Arjun Modhwadia and ex-MLA Ambarish Der.

We had got Ambarishbhai on loan (hinting at his party-hopping). We are happy we have repaid the loan. Arjunbhai turning against the party is painful indeed. However, it is not the first such instance, nor is it likely to be the last… I believe the BJP has welcomed 82 Congress leaders of MLA and MP ranks over the past 20 years.

If one were to ask the common man, he would be able to recognise only eight of those 82… and only two-five names which are relevant today. I believe the BJP is unable to seek votes on the basis of its work and therefore, with saam, daam, dand, bhed (hook or crook), it is crushing faces who raise their voice against its regime.

The coming elections will see new polarisation as those in power are not able to address the issues of the people, and are forcing those who do, to join it and suppress the people. It will be a contest of netas versus people. I am confident the results will be shocking.

* Modhwadia was part of the meetings for Nyay Yatra till a day before he defected to the BJP.

The BJP appears to be holding bharti melas (recruitment fairs) to get Opposition workers, and to keep its own grass-root workers in check… We are happy that the people may be electing a kamal (BJP) government, but the ruling netas are all (originally) of the Congress. This will make it easy for Congress workers to get the government to do their work, whereas BJP workers are suffering.

* There is some speculation that you are also in talks with the BJP.

Some mediapersons who run paid news campaigns are out to assassinate the characters of Opposition politicians… These rumours are just meant to sow doubts in the minds of the people and to harm the Congress.

* Do you see the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra as a success in Gujarat?

The Congress is a samooh (amalgamation) of not individuals but ideas, and I believe the ideologies of the Congress and the Constitution are two sides of the same coin. Hence, those supporting both are eager to extend their support to the Yatra. Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar (Patel’s) Gujarat played a leading role in winning freedom for the country and drafting the Constitution… Rahul Gandhi, who is India’s future, is coming to Gandhi’s and Sardar’s Gujarat… to protect the Constitution and the rights it gives.

* Whom do you see as a threat to the Constitution?

Those who have climbed the ladder of the Constitution to power are now violating the Constitution. The common man is afraid of speaking the truth.

* You say it is Mahatma Gandhi’s and Sardar Patel’s Gujarat. BJP leaders call it Narendra Modi’s and Amit Shah’s Gujarat.

I am happy that people from Gujarat are leading the country (as Prime Minister and Home Minister)… But I feel sad that (they) are shirking their Constitutional duties and dividing citizens on the lines of caste, religion and language.

* Why is Rahul’s Yatra skirting the Saurashtra region, which includes as many as 7 Lok Sabha seats (of the total 26), with the elections so close?

Rahul Gandhi is giving the country a direction. He is leading the world’s longest yatra… and the time permits him to cross only South Gujarat… The Gujarat Congress will go to every corner of the state with the message and enthusiasm of the Yatra, and its ideas of rights, in the coming days… Rahul Gandhi’s Yatra has nothing to do with elections. His objective is to unite the people of the country… lift them out of divisions of caste, creed and religion. Elections are the heart of democracy, but elections come and go… We are striving to ensure that people think about the value of their votes before they cast their ballot.

* The BJP has declared some candidates for the Lok Sabha polls already, as has your ally Aam Aadmi Party. Why hasn’t the Congress?

Screening committees have been constituted. Simultaneously, the party organisation has been preparing for the elections for quite a while. I believe only the finishing touches are left (to the list)…

It appears to me that some parties are in a hurry to contest elections. The Congress seeks votes by highlighting its work, and not in the name of someone. Those in power today can’t seek votes in the name of their work. Hence, they start projecting names and seek votes.

* Modhwadia cited the Congress leadership’s decision to stay away from the Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration ceremony as the reason for leaving the party.

The BJP’s Hindutva is limited to the slogan of Jai Shri Ram and a temple in Ayodhya… It is hence hollow. Lord Ram is the epitome of how to lead a life, and that is the sanskar (value sytem) of every individual in this country. Breaching the maryada (discipline) Lord Ram taught, the BJP has done politics in His name. I am proud to be a worker of the party under which the locks of the temple of Ram Lalla at Ayodhya were opened, allowing people darshan… It was late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who provided that opportunity… Had he been elected again, he would have (allowed) construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya… Congress governments have adopted the policy of respecting whatever judgment the Supreme Court delivers, and we have maintained that.

The Congress respects all the religions of this country. The Shankaracharyas asserted publicly that it was wrong to do pran pratishtha (consecration) in an incomplete temple. Hence, respecting the culture of this country, the Congress kept its distance.

* You have been missing in action since the 2022 election defeat.

I respect the mandate given by people in 2022 in favour of the BJP, helping it win 156 seats, the highest since Independence. People of Gujarat have elected BJP members to taluka panchayats, district panchayats, municipalities, the Assembly and all the 26 seats of the Lok Sabha. For the past one year, we have been busy trying to find solutions to people’s problems… When all elected institutions are run by BJP workers, we expect they would solve people’s problems… But unfortunately, the elected representatives have been found wanting.

* However, has the Opposition been able to do its duty to hold the government to account?

I agree that a strong Opposition is needed to save democracy. But the people of Gujarat have unfortunately left no space for the Opposition… I construe this as Gujarat people’s directive to the Opposition to keep mum.

* At a time when the BJP’s top national leaders are from Gujarat, why has the Congress in the state not been able to project a leader of similar stature?

From the time I became a Congress worker in 1990… I have not seen a Congress government in Gujarat… The Congress has been in the Opposition since 1995, and in the 2022 Assembly elections, I feel, the people of Gujarat relieved us from the duty of Opposition also. In such a scenario, the BJP has become the focal point of aspirations…

I feel that in the 2024 election, the people of Gujarat will raise questions of mandi, inflation, unemployment, atrocities, corruption, tax terrorism to the BJP.

* The BJP has set a target of winning 370 Lok Sabha seats in the coming elections and all the 26 seats in Gujarat for the third time. Has the Congress set any targets?

The Congress’s target is to get doosri azaadi (second Independence) to the country. I assert that we are headed for a repeat of 2004. Then, the BJP had the face of a moderate like (A B) Vajpayee, (BJP leader) Pramod Mahajan’s feel-good factor claims, and the blitzkrieg of an India Shining campaign. There was talk of ‘foreign origins’ of Sonia Gandhi… Despite all this, the people voted for change and voted in the UPA-I government. In UPA-I and UPA-II, the people of Gujarat elected 12 and 11 MPs of the Congress, respectively. However much propaganda the BJP might do… the fact remains that the people have thoroughly understood the BJP’s reign and its leaders. I feel Gujarat and the entire country are eager for a repeat of 2004 in 2024.