‘Overconfidence, Casteism our major challenges this election’: Gujarat Ex-CM Vijay Rupani

Do you think casteism exists because our politics feeds on it?

Casteism is gaining ground and this cannot be ignored in politics… So, we keep doing some balancing work and social engineering. That said, it is a cause of worry for all political parties and the country as a whole, and the only solution to lift people out of it is to promote the spirit of nationalism.

How do you view the shrinking space of the Opposition?

That is for Opposition leaders to worry about and to find ways to survive… Take the Congress. It doesn’t have any leader. The party is in the grip of nepotism. Its policy keeps lurching from one side to the other… Eventually, it is votes which count and they have to win votes in a manner that people trust them and by exploiting our shortcomings. But it is their responsibility, not ours.

The Opposition accuses the BJP government of cornering them using Central agencies.

Do you recall 1975 when you (the Congress government) had imposed the Emergency, made mass arrests… So who endangered democracy?

Today, we may be making arrests, but people can go to court. (Arvind) Kejriwal moving the Delhi High Court against his arrest is one example… Sanjay Singh, for one, has got bail, but their (Aam Aadmi Party’s) former deputy CM (Manish Sisodia) hasn’t. So, these procedures are happening, indicating democracy is in operation. But in a democracy, if one commits some wrong, one can’t expect the government to take no action…

The Opposition says the BJP’s target of winning 400-plus seats is an attempt to leave no space for the Opposition and to change the Constitution.

Not at all. This merely reflects the confidence of the BJP, inspired by the performance of Narendra Modi and the way the BJP’s reach has expanded…In the past, Rajiv Gandhi had won more than 400 seats. We had managed to win only two seats. And yet, we rose and are ruling the country today. This doesn’t mean we have left no space for the Opposition.

Despite the BJP being such a powerful party, social media posts critical of the government invite police action.

People upload numerous reels against Narendra Modi and Amit Shah and other leaders of the BJP. Have we taken action against them? We don’t act against those criticising us politically. But those spreading lies have to be restrained.

In Rajkot, Union minister Parshottam Rupala and Paresh Dhanani are the BJP and Congress candidates, respectively. Neither belongs to Rajkot, with Rupala from Amreli. Do you see this having an impact?

No. Because Rupala is a heavyweight. He has served as BJP Gujarat president for two terms. He is also a Union minister. It is natural for people to accept him as their leader. He belongs to Saurashtra and is contesting from Saurashtra (Rajkot falls in the region). So, there is no question of the candidate being an ‘outsider’… These are national elections and people vote in the interest of the nation.

How do you see the Surat Lok Sabha result, with the BJP winning the seat uncontested?

The Congress candidate there has himself gone underground. What can we do about that? It is all the Congress’s doing.

Were others in the fray persuaded to withdraw their candidature?

That is not true at all. If that were possible, we might have done the same in all constituencies. The fact of the matter is that the Congress candidate in Surat had issues with his party.

Does this bode well for democracy?

It is very bad. I will say, this is certainly bad. But what can we do about it when the Congress is in shambles? There was a time when we were in the Opposition and we could hardly save our deposits… But we never quit… We have managed to raise a force of workers who are not power-centric but ideologically committed… The Congress of today, on the other hand, is completely demoralised.

For bypolls which are being held simultaneously, the BJP has given tickets to those who crossed over from the Congress. Would this not lead to disappointment among BJP cadres?

Certainly not, because the six Congress and AAP MLAs who have joined the BJP had won the elections (in 2022). BJP workers had lost to them… So, there is no reason for disappointment.

Do you think so many people joining from other parties can create problems for the BJP?

We have to keep our doors open to those who show commitment to our principles and willingness to work under our top leaders. But when so many people are streaming in, it is imperative that the state leadership remains alert and sees to it that opportunists don’t exploit the situation. That said, we have to show a large heart.

Critics of the BJP accuse its governments of persecuting minorities, especially Muslims.

Our slogan is ‘Appeasement of None, Justice for All’. Till date, the Congress indulges in appeasement. This leads to debates centered around minority, majority… This is the reason we are talking about a common civil code, which will mean that a poor person, irrespective of whether a Hindu or a Muslim, gets benefits. It is not appropriate to extend all benefits to a person just because one belongs to a minority community. This disturbs the balance and creates problems. We have broken this dichotomy completely.

Minorities are safe. In the 10 years of the Modi government at Centre, have there been any incidents on the basis of which minorities can claim that the government is harassing them?…

Then why does the PM have to make remarks such as that the Congress wants to give resources to ‘those who have more children’ or to ‘infiltrators’?

What he meant was that if the Congress comes back to power, politics of appeasement will return. Do we want that?

Has the BJP transformed, in the sense that it has come to depend on the image of one individual?

We grew up dreaming of a common civil code, abrogation of Article 370, construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, protection of maanbidus (symbols) of India, antyodaya (welfare of the poor)… We are happy that many of those dreams have become a reality during our lifetime itself and others will become a reality in the coming days.

Secondly, a party depends on the image of its main leader. For years, the Congress powered ahead due to the image of Indira Gandhi. The leadership void created after her persists even today (in the Congress). The BJP grew due to the image of Atal (Bihari Vajpayee) and is now marching ahead due to the image of Narendrabhai (Modi).

But what happens if a leader becomes larger than the party? Can it lead to the same situation as in the Congress?

That is unlikely. As per the internal arrangements of our party, Narendrabhai cares as much about the party, its structure systems etc. But eventually, there can be only one vadil (figuratively, leader)… The supreme leader of a party has to be supreme in the true sense of the term.

But do you think there are any lessons to be learnt from the Congress example?

The lessons to be drawn from the Congress are how it didn’t pay attention to its workers while it was in power, eventually destroying its cadres… The day our cadres weaken, we will meet the fate of the Congress.

What will happen if the BJP-led NDA wins 400-plus seats in the coming elections?

Decisions required to be taken in the interest of the nation will be taken with courage. Roadblocks being created by the Opposition will come to an end.

Once, the Congress government sent Vajpayee as its emissary to the UN. Is the extent of the bitterness between the government and Opposition healthy?

For that to happen, the Opposition has to have leaders like Atalji… I do not see any Atalji in today’s Opposition ranks.