Amid a churn in the Delhi Congress following the resignation of former party president Arvinder Singh Lovely over tickets being distributed to “strangers” Kanhaiya Kumar and Udit Raj for the northeast and northwest Delhi constituencies respectively, and the alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Raj has said that there is no “crisis” in the party unit.
Raj, who had been a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from the northwest Delhi constituency from 2014 to 2019, quit the saffron party to join the Congress in April 2019 after he was denied a ticket ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. On April 23, when the three Congress candidates for Delhi were introduced at a press conference at the party headquarters, party workers protested against him and the party for giving a ticket to a BJP turncoat, calling him an “outsider”.
In an interview with The Wire Raj lashed out at Lovely and said that workers had been mobilised to protest against him.
“The person who himself had gone to BJP and came back is making this charge of an outsider.”
“That means 70-80% of Delhi are outsiders. I have been here since 1980,” he said.
Following Lovely’s resignation, two former party MLAs Neeraj Basoya and Naseeb Singh also quit the party criticising the alliance with the AAP. On Saturday (May 4), Lovely himself joined the BJP for a second time. In 2015, he was asked to step down from his post as Congress president following which in May 2017, he joined the BJP but returned to the Congress in February 2018.
“..They are parasites and they will definitely say some things. And they were very happy with the alliance but when tickets were denied they criticised the alliance with the AAP. Why were they mum for all this time?”
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s openly communal attacks on the Congress manifesto in recent weeks, in which he has likened the document to that of the Muslim League’s and accused the Congress of redistributing wealth and snatching the rights of the SC/ST/OBCs and giving them to Muslims, Raj said that the BJP government under Modi had “killed” reservations.
“He promised 2 crore jobs and in ten years that would come to 20 crore jobs. Not even 8 lakh jobs were given in ten years. Who is at the receiving end? SC/ST/OBC. For SC/ST the only way to bring them into the governance process is to give them government employment which he has denied. How can he say that he is a well wisher of SC/ST/OBC,” he said.
Read edited excerpts of the interview below:
You have been an MP in the BJP government between 2014 to 2019. But this time you are fighting the elections as the INDIA alliance which is looking to take on the BJP from the same constituency. What are the issues you are looking to highlight in this election?
The major issues are the works that I had started but were not completed. There was a demand when I was contesting the election in 2014, that the metro connectivity is needed urgently to Narela, which I got sanctioned in 2018. But my successor (BJP’s Hans Raj Hans) was so complacent that the work was not started. Metro lines have been extended to Sohna, Palwal, Ghaziabad but why not these rural areas of Delhi? I see this as a discrimination. Metro connectivity is needed till Bawana as trade and commerce and other activities are affected there because of poor connectivity.
You are facing former North Delhi mayor Yogender Chandolia from the BJP who is seeking votes not in his name but in Modi’s name and urging people to help his party surpass 400 seats by saying that Modi has developed the country in the last ten years, and improved India’s image globally. So how will you challenge him because he’s not asking for votes for him but for Modi?
I am very focused on local people’s problems and our party manifesto states that inflation, unemployment, health and education are the main issues.
The reason that my opponent is seeking votes in the name of Modiji is because my predecessor has not done anything and he (Chandoliya) will also not do anything. He has been in politics for many years and has not done anything. He cannot deliver, even if elected. I am giving a choice to the masses that compare my five year tenure and five years of Hans Raj Hans. Who is better? All the development tasks I had undertaken were not completed. And Chandolia is not new in politics. So I am telling the people that kaam kiya hai aur kaam karenge(we have done work and will do work). Is Modi ji coming for water, education, sanitation and other development issues? People vote in the name of Modi but when they need the MP will Modi be available to address their grievances and to hear their problems?
Your candidature has been criticised by former Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely. In his resignation letter Lovely said that the north east and north west tickets i.e. to you and Kanhaiya Kumar were allotted to those who were “total strangers to the Delhi Congress and party policies.” How do you respond to Lovely’s charge?
The criticism was that they are ‘outsiders’. That means 70-80% of Delhi are outsiders. I have been here since 1980. And of course they have become a laughing stock by calling me an outsider. I have been an MP from this constituency where they are calling me an outsider.
But there were protests outside the Congress headquarters when the three Congress candidates for Delhi were introduced at a press conference on April 23. And these were protests against you for being an “outsider” and a former BJP MP and a turncoat. How do you respond to this charge and is the Delhi Congress unit in disarray less than a fortnight ahead of elections?
The person (Lovely) who himself had gone to BJP and came back is making this charge.
But Congress workers were protesting…
Workers were mobilised. They are innocent people. Delhi Congress’ predicament is that it is trapped within intermediaries. Those intermediaries we call them ‘1993-walas’. When elections were conducted in Delhi for the first time in 1993, the Congress was then in a very good position and whoever was fielded won. From 2013 and 2014 when the party’s position was in decline, they should have arrested the decline then and worked to revive the party when it became weak. So they are parasites and they will definitely say some things. And they were very happy with the alliance but when tickets were denied they criticised the alliance with the AAP. Why were they mum for all this time?
After Lovely two other Congress MLAs have resigned over the alliance with the AAP, and they have also made similar charges criticising the alliance with the AAP. How do you see this affecting your prospects in this election?
This will brighten mine and Kanhaiya Kumar’s prospects. The common Congress workers were unhappy as they were stifling their voices. They will now be free from the clutches from their clutches who had monopolised the party. The workers are coming up and working more freely.
So you are saying there is no crisis in the Delhi Congress?
No, there is no crisis in the party and the Congress’ vote share will increase.
How have these developments affected the Delhi Congress’ relationship with the AAP given that the two parties are fighting the elections together in Delhi and that the BJP is already on a 100% strike rate in both 2014 and 2019?
At one point they (BJP) had 0% strike rate and this time also they will have the same. This has rather strengthened the alliance with AAP and will have no impact.
At a rally in Banswara in Rajasthan Modi said that: “This is the first time in post Independence history that the royal family of the Congress party, which lives in Delhi, is not going to vote for itself…”
How do you respond to this statement? And is the alliance with AAP despite opposition from the local cadre in Delhi, a decision for survival because of the Congress’ failure in the 2014, 2019 elections?
Now when the country is in danger, democracy is in danger and the constitution is under threat under these circumstances despite the differences we have to fight unitedly. Because the larger issue is not our differences but to save democracy and the constitution.
Modi has been openly criticising the Congress manifesto and has made openly communal remarks equating it with the Muslim League and accused the Congress of redistributing wealth and giving it to Muslims and snatching the rights of SC/ST/OBCs. Your constituency is a reserved constituency so how do you think these issues will resonate with the people and how will you make your voice heard through this high pitched communal campaign with your manifesto?
30 lakh central government jobs are lying vacant. My manifesto says that the first task will be to fill these vacancies which will give jobs to 30 lakh unemployed youth. Is this talking like Muslim League? Women from poor households will get Rs 1 lakh per annum, is this a reflection in any way of the Muslim League? Unemployed educated youth will get Rs 1 lakh per annum and we will conduct the caste census and remove the cap of 50% reservation-is this of the Muslim League? Modi is baffled now. He has stooped to such a level that he is saying agar aapke paas do bhains hai ek doosro ko de diya jayega (if you have two buffaloes, one will be taken away and given to others). Is this becoming of a prime minister?
Lastly he has killed reservations for SC/ST/OBC because many government entities and departments have been privatised. Even for lateral entry for IAS officers there is no reservation. So who denied SC/ST/OBC reservation? He promised 2 crore jobs and in ten years that would be 20 crore jobs. Not even 8 lakh jobs were given. Who is at the receiving end? SC/ST/OBC. For SC/ST the only way to bring them into the governance process is to give them government employment which he has denied. How can he say that he is a well wisher of SC/ST/OBC? RSS has been vehemently opposed to reservations. They don’t have faith in the constitution. They also opposed Mandal commission recommendations. When Arjun Singh gave reservation to OBC in higher education in 2006, again they opposed it. They are against SC/ST/OBC.
So communal polarisation will not work much this time. If fair elections are conducted BJP will be routed this time.
