Delhi BJP State Unit President Satish Upadhyay talks to New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla on Narendra Modi, Kiran Bedi, and the controversy surrounding the charges made on him by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Sachchi Baat on India News.
PC: You have worked so hard. Still the party got Kiran Bedi to fight in the Delhi assembly poll. It looks like the senior party leaders don’t trust you.
SU: No. It’s not true. Inspired by PM Narendra Modi, there is a change in the work culture in the country. A lot of people are joining the party. Kiran Bedi is a social worker.
PC: The PM welcomed her. The (party) president welcomed her …
SU: I was present when she was joining the party.
PC: They sent the smaller leaders to you.
SU: No.
PC: Are you fighting with the organisation?
SU: That’s your perception. There has been a change. People are impressed with Modiji’s work culture, and that’s why we are welcoming those people in Delhi. The workers are committed to work as per the organisational structure of the party. “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas” is important.
PC: Does an outsider’s entry demoralise the party?
SU: Not at all. There is no demoralisation. There is only one motive. The party has not been in power for 15 years. We have to make the good people who are joining the party win elections and benefit from their capabilities and specialisations.
PC: Does Satish Upadhyay not have 70 capable people in the party?
SU: We don’t have just 70 people. We have many people. She (Kiran Bedi) is not an outsider. She is from the society. She is from Delhi. We haven’t got her from Rajasthan or Haryana or Punjab. There are many people in the party like them.
PC: Will that not lead to the exclusion of one person from among those 70 people?
SU: Did we win 70 out of 70 seats? What did I say? The 70 workers did contest. The exclusion has not happened from among those 70. Who knows? We would even exclude 20 people out of those 70! That’s not the issue. The exclusion was done because of performance. We can make replacements when there are better options. I don’t understand this reference to ‘outsiders’. There are people who are contributing to the society. There are journalists who join the party. There are social workers who join the party. They have contributed to the society in their own ways. Political contribution is necessarily not the factor here.
PC: Earlier, it was Modi against Kejriwal. Now Kiran Bedi’s picture will be shown against Satish Upadhyay’s.
SU: It was never Modi versus Kejriwal. There was no comparison.
PC: Did Modiji not name him (Kejriwal) at the Ramlila Grounds?
SU: Why (do you think) was it done?
PC: He (PM Modi) made him a big leader.
SU: It was important because an anarchist, a habitual liar…. A lie spoken 100 times becomes…
PC: Did the mention not encourage him (Kejriwal)?
SU: Our party, since 1952, and other parties like the Congress have a cadre and ideology. Here, they use and throw. It’s all disposable. They form and abandon governments at their will. PM said the right thing. He did not name anyone. He warned people against those elements who can harm Delhi administration in the future. It was necessary to warn people against him.
PC: Did the mention not raise the person’s level?
SU: His level will remain the same. He saw his level in the polls. He has been misguiding Delhi’s administration, bureaucracy, the people and journalists. Warning people against such an element is not raising his stature.
PC: Will people like Shazia Ilmi raise the credibility of your party?
SU: The question is not of credibility. It is about taking everyone together. People who believe in our ideology, the policies and tradition of the party and Modiji’s working style are welcome to the party. We believe in “Vasudaiva Kutumbhakam”.
PC: Will she contest?
SU: If they express the wish and the party feels that they must contest, they will (contest the poll). They are free to contest. The party needs good people to contest. The party president named the Delhi unit president (me) and the state committee and said that the two will decide whether they will contest or not. The party needs good people.
PC: Does the party need good people?
SU: Definitely. The party needs people with a clean image, people who are not facing charges of corruption, people who contribute to the society and have a good reputation. Such people were already present in the party. If more such people who are ready to join, the party will give them a warm welcome.
PC: What about the chief ministerial candidate?
SU: The party national president has said that the parliamentary board will take the decision on the chief ministerial candidate. The party parliamentary board can always over-rule any statement from me or the state unit.
PC: Kejriwal dropped a bomb on your clean image. Was Kiran Bedi hurriedly brought to the front because you were surrounded in a controversy?
SU: I had said in my press conference that a criminal defamation, a report in the election commission and making the charges against me reach the logical end — all will be done within 24 hours. He did not give any reply. That’s the problem. You cannot sway a paper as evidence. I come from a middle class family. Nowhere in the Constitution is it written that pursuing a personal business venture while being a party worker is a crime. He said that I have six companies. The two companies he named don’t even exist. Those companies have not even been incorporated. I am saying it with a lot of seriousness and journalists should take this very seriously--Nawoh company kabhi banee, na usmein kabhi vyaapaar hua, na usmein koi transaction, hua na usmein koi khata khula, uskein sandarbh unhone kaha, main uskee clipping aapko bhejtaa hoon, defamation usee pe daalaa hai.
PC: Is it about conflict of interest?
SU: Coming to conflict of interest, it would happen if my company was working with them while my being the state unit president. I am saying it on record--after April 2012, after my becoming the councillor, humne koi kaam BSES ka nahin kiya.
PC: What about the shares you sold?
SU: I have four companies. There is New Delhi Network Limited. It pertains to media work and media education. Usmein power ka ek rupiye ka kaam hum karte nahin hain. The two companies I formed are redundant. No work has been undertaken in those. There is one company where we have done some work between 2005 and 2012. Its authorised capital is up to some lakhs…uska turn over bhi kuchh lakhon aur kuchh karoron ka ek aadh saal ke andar hua hai..
PC: Politics is a dirty world.
SU: It’s wrong. That’s why I have filed a criminal defamation. That’s what I have said. He has to prove things on the two companies. Either he leaves politics or I will. I have proven it.
PC: He has said that there is conflict of interest as you are the BJP state unit president…
SU: You can run the controversy for as long as you wish to. I have said that there are no irregularities in the companies.
PC: Did you raise the matter of CAG audit of power companies?
SU: We were not in the government.
PC: You are in the government for seven months now.
SU: We are not in power. We are bringing it in our manifesto. We are going to polls. We have put the company audits and other demands in the manifesto.
PC: The electricity rates have gone up in your regime.
SU: No.
PC: You had promised to bring the rates down by 30 per cent.
SU: We have done that 100 per cent. The 30 per cent subsidy is being provided to those with 200 units and 400 units.
PC: What about the issue of full statehood to Delhi?
SU: Delhi is the national capital. There are different security concerns here. Our manifesto will talk about all our demands related to Delhi.
PC: Who is your political enemy?
SU: My political enemy is the opposition. You can’t take Congress lightly. BJP got five seats, Congress two and AAP one in the recently held Delhi cantonment poll. Congress has rebounded.
PC: Who will form the government in Delhi?
SU: BJP will form the government in Delhi.
PC: What if you lose? Will it be Modi’s defeat or Bedi’s?
SU: We are committed to win.
PC: Thanks for coming to our studio.
SU: Thanks.