HVK Archives: Muslims should test us, we are their friends
Muslims should test us, we are their friends - The Times of India
Anil Saxena
()
January 26, 1998
Title: Muslims should test us, we are their friends
Author: Anil Saxena
Publication: The Times of India
Date: January 26, 1998
The maverick BJP chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh
hopes to steer his party to victory in UP during the Lok Sabha
poll. According to him the entrance of Sonia Gandhi in politics
will have no effects on BJP's fortunes in the state. Mr Singh's
agenda appears to be to send a record number of BJP MPs from UP
to the Lok Sabha. In a free-wheeling interview with Anil Saxena
the chief minister explains his party's strategy for winning
polls in the nation's largest state where his party hopes, among
other things, to make a dent on the Muslim support traditionally
enjoyed by its rivals. Excerpts:
Q: What would he the impact of Sonia Gandhi's campaigning for the
Congress on the BJP?
A: The Congress era is now over and the BJP era has started. The
Congress era started with the country's freedom and ended with
economic slavery. At this juncture the Congress has become
irrelevant. Sonia can momentarily boost the morale of desperate
workers of a dead Congress, but she cannot help increase Congress
seats?
Would not Sonia's presence in Amethi and Sultanpur result in
Congress victory in these seats?
I don't think so. She would try to tap the sentiments of the
people, but she has no clear strategy, direction and solution for
the common man's problems. There is no network around her to
carry these sentiments to the doorsteps of the voters. Congress
has lost sympathy due to various reasons and the people are now
looking towards the BJP with confidence.
How many seats will the BJP allot to its supporting parties?
The question is not that of quota but of winning seats.
How many seats would the BJP win along with its allies in U.P.?
My estimate is that as of today we should get 65 to 70 seats.
This can go up with the increasing wave of the BJP. Things are
improving for the BJP day by day. We are confident that the
people of India will send us to the 12th Lok Sabha with a clear
mandate.
What is the current position of the BJP?
We were strong enough in the North. In the South we did not have
a strong base. Now we have found friends in Karnataka, Andhra
Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and West Bengal. In Maharashtra,
Punjab and Haryana we have had friends earlier. This is natural
as the nation now needs a major political party. The BJP is the
only party that can fill this vacuum.
How far will the new equations being formed in politics affect
the general elections?
Alliances without principles and on opportunistic lines cannot
give political results. Each of the constituents of the UF is
playing his own music. Due to mistrust between them they are not
able to project prime ministerial candidate. BSP has lost its
credibility by deceiving SP, BJP and the Congress. Laloo Prasad's
Rashtriya Morcha is a mockery about which the people are aware
of. That is why the people are inclined towards the BJP which can
provide stability.
Who are your main rivals?
Congress will be in the number of position in the whole country.
But there will be a large gap between the first party - the BJP
and the Congress. As far as U.P. is concerned, SP could be the
major opposition party.
What are the main issue in the elections? What are the people's
expectations from your party?
The major issue is of political stability. There are three
dimensions. 1) Need for a stable, strong and clean and
accountable government. 2) An efficient, farsighted and clean
leader, and 3) a government which must be competent enough to
provide an effective and sensitive administration. People need a
government which can rise above caste, creed, religion and
regionalism.
How would Muslims react towards the BJP?
The Muslims should decide on their own and should not get misled
by others. They should come close to the BJP and test us. They
will not find better friends than those in the BJP. Other parties
are misleading them whereas we are making them co-passengers.
Other parties are using them as vote banks whereas we treat them
as dignified citizens. Our track record testifies this. We don't
discriminate on the basis of caste, creed and religion. We
believe in justice for all and appeasement of none.
Muslims are attracted towards BJP's prime ministerial candidate
Atal Behari Vajpayee. Will there be a special package for the
Muslims in BJP's manifesto?
Muslims would first get attracted towards Atalji, then to our
principles and finally to our organisation. Vishwa Hindu Parishad
has said that Kashi and Mathura are on its agenda. What is the
BJP's opinion? BJP and VHP are two different organisations. Our
agenda is our right and their agenda is their right. We don't
believe in imposing our agenda on each other. Kashi and Mathura
are not on BJP's agenda. Bal Thackeray has said that a national
monument should he constructed at Ayodhya?
This may be his opinion, not ours.
What is your stand on the Ram temple issue?
Ram temple is a national issue, and to linger it on is no ones
interest. There are only two ways for a solution. Either
through dialogue or Parliament should enact a law to solve this
problem.
You took the support of other parties in forming your government.
Has this not damaged your party's Image?
There was a time when people used to criticise us that we don't
know politics. That we are not practical and that we don't reach
out to touch the target. This time we have done a miracle and
some people are perturbed. Could we have allowed the state to be
pushed towards political instability? Or could we have allowed a
particular leader of a particular party to run the state by
proxy? The only alternative was to form our own government.
Has not the jumbo ministry in U.P. damaged the party's image?
This is a "class" reaction and not the reaction of the masses. We
don't feel any difficulty in running the government. In our
government there are three different parties and three different
ideologies. But the projection of the government's image is
cohesive and I consider this to be a big achievement.
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