Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev recently joined the BJP, weeks after switching over from the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Her stint in the TMC lasted five years, much shorter than her decades-long association with the Congress before that. In a wide-ranging interview with The Indian Express, Dev speaks about what caused her disillusionment with her former parties, the government’s handling of the protest against NEET paper leak, and the RSS. Excerpts:
You have been with three political parties. How has your experience been?
I started my career in student politics with NSUI, the Congress’ student wing, and left in 2021. So, going from the Congress to the Trinamool was not an ideological change … Mamata didi herself exited from the Congress and formed this party.
But what I realised very quickly is that the TMC’s vote-share in Bengal or anywhere else in the country is not ideological; it’s leader-centric. In contrast, the Congress has an ideological base, or if you don’t like the BJP, you vote for the Congress. But the BJP’s vote is entirely ideological. When they had two MPs or when they had no MPs, and today when they are on the Treasury benches, they have never compromised with their ideology.
What about the top leadership of the parties?
The Congress does a lot of review meetings after every election. So, it comes across as democratic, but when it comes to implementation, there is a lack of internal consensus. And in Trinamool, there are hardly any forums for discussion. Power is concentrated in the hands of one person, because she built the party and ran it. So she holds all the strings.
The critics will tell you that you don’t have a voice in the BJP. It’s only two people, Prime Minister Modi and the Home Minister (Amit Shah). I don’t think it’s true because all the MPs have a guardian minister; you can talk to them freely about what you’re facing in your state. Apart from that, you have the organisation. You can also go to PM Modi and the Home Minister. If nothing works, whether you like it or not, the Sangh Parivar has its eyes and ears to the ground.
Have you met anyone from the Sangh Parivar?
No, but it is very clear to me that very tall, experienced Sangh leaders are very much a part of the parliamentary system. So there are so many layers of engagement. In the Congress, if somebody at the top gets upset with you, your career is over. You can’t take on the family and survive in the Congress. But if you’re a meritorious person in the BJP, there will always be a platform.
What do you think about the role of Sangh Parivar in the BJP, more so when there is a lot of criticism of the RSS by Congress leaders?
The Congress is also ruled by a parivar. One party is with the Gandhi Parivar and for the BJP, their ideologue is Sangh Parivar. And it’s better to have a large organisation like the RSS, where there are different views in different directions, than one family. Parivar toh dono taraf hai. Udhar first family hai aur idhar Sangh Parivar hai (There is a family on both the sides. There is a first family on that side and on this side, there is a Sangh Parivar). But Sangh Parivar is far more democratic as it is a larger institution than one family.
Did this difference draw you to the BJP?
The Congress has consistently diluted its ideology. For instance, when they first tied up with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, or the Congress has been with M K Stalin for so many terms, they suddenly dropped him and went to the TVK. In Assam, they said we are not with communal parties, but tied with Badaruddin Ajmal’s AIUDF. They are not the same Congress that used to be there during my father’s time (the late Santosh Mohan Dev was a Union Minister and a veteran Assam Congress leader).
Why did you get disillusioned with the TMC?
My situation in the Trinamool was like no one else’s because I was not a person doing politics at the grassroots level in Bengal. I felt it was extremely difficult for the TMC leader to pursue the growth of her party outside Bengal. I had a choice between the Congress and the BJP. I felt that the way they (BJP) are working in the northeastern states, their acceptance is growing. After talking to the Assam Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma) and Home Minister Amit Shah, it was crystal clear to me that if I want to work for the next 10-15 years for my people, the BJP is the party.
What were your views about RSS and Sangh Parivar in the early years of your political career?
When I started my student politics, obviously it was against ABVP. Toh humko bhagwa se allergy hota tha (I was allergic to saffron).
Now, there’s this argument about syllabus being changed. Before the BJP came to power, there was enough manipulation in what we studied to make sure that only the role of Congress figures in the Independence movement was highlighted. When the Leader of the Opposition says that Sangh Parivar is running the education system, I would say the Gandhi family pushed Nehru’s contributions, but a real syllabus is one that talks about all the different ideologies that exist. It is recorded how many Congress senior leaders met K B Hedgewar in a shakha. You’ll never hear the Congress saying that.
What do you think of the government’s handling of the students’ protest?
There was a time the Jantar Mantar was the hub of protests. How many times did you see during the Congress government any minister going to those protests? Not until the Nirbhaya (case) happened. The way the Modi government responded — whether it is by bringing new legislation, by Dharmendra Pradhanji stepping down — they handled it well. What is now sub judice is whether the force used there was proportionate and necessary or was it disproportionate. However, looking at thousands of people marching towards Parliament, would they have stopped at the gate? That is also the Home Minister’s responsibility to protect Parliament.
Last week, in both Houses, the LoPs, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, blamed the Home Minister for the crackdown on protesters.
A responsible LoP should know what the law of the country is. It is there in the old CrPC and BNS on who can give an order like this, and under what circumstances they have to go to the executive. So for him to say that it is Amit Shah ji who put the pellets or whatever it is he said in Parliament, in total ignorance of the law and the operating procedure, is a purely malicious political statement.
While we talk about the language the Gen Z uses, what do you think of the discourse in Parliament at present — from both sides, including a section of women MPs from the BJP?
The discourse is definitely not up to the mark. Can I walk into Rajya Sabha and say that I met somebody in Assam who was saying somebody in the Opposition is a stupid fool? You have every right to corner the government, but Parliament is not a street or an election rally. And the LoP must remember he holds a constitutional post.
When youngsters protest, one has to be extremely understanding of them. Gen Z is the youngest generation. You can’t expect them to act like adults. I was very upset to see the language that was being used for the highest constitutional post. But what is the attitude of the government? It’s in the Bill, which says that the service providers will be prosecuted, people who leak the paper will be prosecuted, and those in the system of setting papers will be prosecuted. But there is no prosecution for students buying a leaked paper in this Act. This is proof. Beyond that, I don’t know which individual MP is saying what.
You were earlier in the Opposition and have now crossed the aisle. Is there any awkwardness?
I have attended two NDA meetings so far. For the first time, I felt that the kind of work the PM does, we don’t get to see it in its entirety. I was criticising them earlier because the material I got came from the Opposition. But when I went to the NDA programme, I felt that as a party, we need to do much more to take the government’s good work to the people.
When youngsters protest, one has to be extremely understanding of them. Gen Z is the youngest generation, said Sushmita Dev. (file) 
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