The Narendra Modi government came to power by selling big dreams to the people, but has undermined the parliamentary system, unleashed tax terrorism and taken the Indian economy downhill, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says. The 2019 national elections will be an ideological battle against the RSS-BJP and not a personality clash around Rahul Gandhi and Modi and the Congress will work together with like-minded parties to defeat the saffron brigade, he tells Amit Agnihotri in an exclusive interview.
How confident are you about Congress prospects in the coming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Odisha?
Well, based on the feedback from our people on the ground, the three central states appear to be favourable for the Congress. Our leaders are united there and we can win. I don’t have information about Odisha, but am confident we will do better.
How would these polls impact the 2019 national elections?
There will definitely be an impact. There will be a new government in the states and it will have no anti-incumbency. People have seen through the Modi hype and have realised that he promises too much but does little. He sold dreams to the people in 2014. Because of all this, the Congress would gain in the next parliamentary polls.
In your assessment, how many seats can the Congress win in the new Lok Sabha?
We have no assessment on that. It is not proper at this point to say how many seats the Congress will get in 2019. But we will gain seats in states like Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Punjab. We will get some seats in Uttar Pradesh also, but I can’t say if the total number would be 200 or 250. Our attempt is to add up the numbers to stop the BJP from coming to power.
So, what is the progress on uniting the Opposition?
Well, things are moving. Usually, in poll season, some people go away. What the Congress is trying is to strengthen the party. People against the BJP ideology are together and our party president Rahul Gandhi is working a lot on this. Parties are opposed to BJP’s thoughts about country and society and the direction in which they are going.
Do you think the 2019 polls will be a Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi battle?
For us, the 2019 election is an ideological battle, not of personalities. The Congress stands for secularism, Dalits, women, saving Constitution, improving the economy. Those who believe in these ideas and join us are welcome. Those who are opposed to such ideas are on the other side.
But PM Modi may prefer to make it an election about personalities?
PM Modi’s plan of presidential style polls is not possible. Our parliamentary system is based on ideals of Dr B R Ambedkar and all are interested in parliamentary democracy. People of this country will not go against this. There are different languages, food habits and dresses. To keep the nation united, the parliamentary system is better suited.
You have seen NDA I under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and NDA II. How do you compare the two regimes?
We differed in Vajpayee’s views. He was in the RSS, but thought about the country and praised or first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru as the most democratic PM and his contribution in promoting democracy. If Vajpayee said this, it meant that he believed in parliamentary democracy. Atalji took forward Nehru’s foreign policy; he had tolerance and trust in parliamentary system. He worked for his party, but did not hurt the sentiments of others.
After the Gujarat riots in 2002, Vajpayee had asked then chief minister Narendra Modi to follow his ‘raj dharma’. This meant that Modi was not following his ‘raj dharma’. But as he sat next to Vajpayee, he replied in a meek voice that he was doing so. There can be no comparison between Vajpayee and Modi. There is no democracy in Modi rule; he has no time for debate in Parliament. When the Opposition does not get a chance to speak, then disruption takes place. The government can hear us and counter us, but they themselves promote disruptions. Autonomous institutions are being filled with RSS’s men. Modi is misleading people with his sweet talk and is keeping them intoxicated.
Nowadays we hear a lot about nationalism and Nehru bashing. What do you say to that?
Are we not nationalists? It is strange that the RSS leaders did not participate in the freedom movement. Their self-respect and patriotism did not arise then, but now it has bloomed. As for Nehru, he spoke in Parliament, but Modi has not done that so far.
You have charged the government with delaying the anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, but the government said you have not attended any of the meetings called for the purpose. Why?
See, the Lokpal Act was passed in 2013. The fact is that the Modi government does not want to come under the Lokpal. He has not made me the Leader of the Opposition but has been asking me to attend meetings as a special invitee.
A parliamentary standing committee has suggested that if there is no Leader of the Opposition, the leader of the single largest party in the Lok Sabha can be given that status. The government only needs a small change in the rules to facilitate that, but has not done that so far. Modi did nothing on Lokpal for four years and only when our leader Sonia Gandhi started raising it did the government start the process of the selection panel. If the leader of the single largest (Opposition) party, that is the Congress, can be in panel to select CBI chief and CVC, why not in Lokpal? We have been fighting for this for the past four years. The government, which has in the past passed six ordinances as Bills, can bring an ordinance for the Lokpal. The fact is they are not serious.
Will corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal be a big election issue?
The party has already been raising the issue. Why did the government buy the aircraft at `1,670 crore per piece, which is three times the price that the UPA agreed for? And why does it say that price is secret when the French company has disclosed the cost in its annual report? Modi promised “na khaunga na khane doonga”, but big companies ko khila rahe hain (he is making big companies earn profits). He takes them along and gets them agreements.
Why does the Congress charge the Modi government with derailing the economy?
The Modi government has completely mismanaged the economy. Demonetisation in 2016 was a Modi-made disaster. He followed it up with a flawed GST and tax terrorism. People are concerned about these issues. The value of rupee has gone down against the dollar; fuel prices are up; black money is yet to be brought back; the promised `15 lakh per account is missing; NPAs have grown from `2 lakh crore to `12 lakh crore and there are no jobs against the PM’s promised two crore jobs per year.
Now, government data has exposed their claims on GDP growth. The UPA did better at 8.13 per cent against NDA’s 7.1 per cent. But they say this is interim data and final figures are still to come. All this is due to Modi’s economic policies and sensing trouble, even their top advisers have left.
How is the Congress-JD-S alliance going in your home state Karnataka?
We are trying to bring secular parties together. The Congress had 80 MLAs and JD-S had 37, but we still gave the chief minister’s post to them. We sacrificed for the sake of secular values. We want to run the state. There are some differences, but these are like disputes within a family. There are differences within the NDA also, but the allies do not speak out of fear. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda is a senior JD-S leader and understands these issues. Rahul Gandhi, too, is supporting the alliance.
You were recently made AICC in-charge for Maharashtra. How is the party doing there?
We are hopeful of working out a pact with the NCP and together, we can give a tough challenge to the BJP-Shiv Sena combine. The two parties have been together for long and there should be no problem in dealing with them. We recently lost an important senior leader Gurudas Kamat, but our state leaders are working hard to strengthen the party in the state and also in Mumbai. The efforts to revive booth level teams will help.