BHOPAL: Often considered as a detractor of Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in political circles, the union minister Uma Bharti Tuesday defended his statement over roads in MP being better than Washington.
Talking to journalists at her residence in Bhopal, Bharti, the former MP CM addressed Chouhan as his elder brother and UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath as her young brother, besides terming union minister Nitin Gadkari as yaaron ke yaaron (friends of friends).
Reacting to Chouhan’s statements over MP roads being better than those in the US, the union minister said, “It’s high time to change the mindset that we can’t be better than the US.”
“We’re better than the US on many counts, including humanism and development. I agree with the MP CM’s statements. Many roads in Bhopal itself could be better than the US. I can bet that the VIP Road of Bhopal is world class and I’ve seen such roads only in Europe,” maintained Bharti.
“I’m not saying this to please him (Chouhan), but backing him as he has not said anything incorrect. I’ve been in the US in the past, including in cities like Los Angeles, so I’ve seen that country very closely. Treating the US as the most superior country every now and then accentuates nothing but about the inferiority complex afflicting many of us,” she quipped.
“We all see the slums in our country, but I’ve seen the ghettos in the US in 1978-79 when people brought from Africa were sold as slaves like vegetables. Numerous African origins still live in an awful state in the US, although things are changing fast. When we see the US, we forget what happened to Red Indians there. The manner in which the CM’s statements have been taken is unfortunate, it should have been taken positively,” said Bharti.
When questioned about the Patidar reservation stir leader Hardik Patel, the union minister said, “I’ve been monitoring both Hardik Patel and ex-president of JNU students union Kanhaiya Kumar. Both of them have fighting spirits. However, they’ve wasted their fighting spirit by opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” said Bharti.
“Modi Virodh will only usher TRP not votes. My advice to a young fighter like Hardik Patel is to continue his crusade in a non-political manner,” maintained Bharti.
Claiming that BJP would win 160 seats in the upcoming Gujarat assembly polls, Bharti said “the Congress instead of harping on the politics of Modi-Virodh, should pursue of politics of development. They should offer to the people an alternative development model…when they slam demonetisation of currency by the Modi government, they should also tell the public what’s their alternate model.”
Evading speaking much about Congress national vice-president Rahul Gandhi, she said “instead of fighting PM Modi, he needs to first fight his ‘non-serious image’.”
Calling Ram Mandir construction the biggest dream of her life, the Union minister said initially the issue was whether it was the birthplace of Lord Ram, but the three-judge bench in 2010 had resolved it saying the middle dome belongs to the deity.
“Now the dispute is on the construction of the structure and acceptability would be required to be evolved, irrespective of the fact that the temple is built on legal intervention, mutual understanding or mediation.”
“Merely bringing a legislation for the temple construction too won’t help the cause, as its acceptance first needs to be ensured among all,” she added.