SENIOR BJP leader Rajnath Singh says that the BJP is shortly going to kick-start a sustained campaign to expose the crime, violence and corruption of Uttar Pradesh Government. Talking to Organiser representative Dr Shakti Kumar Pandey in Lucknow recently he said the SP’s goondaraj will not be allowed in the State. On the question of re-entry of Shri Kalyan Singh into BJP he said unity of all the nationalist forces will strengthen the national cause. Excerpts:
Under the Akhilesh Yadav government, crime, violence, riots and corruption have increased manifold. Why the BJP is not raising these issues powerfully?
The situation is worse when compaired the Mayawati government. We will soon take up all these issues. We shall go to the people, making them aware of the level of harm that the present government has caused. We will expose the crime, violence and corruption of the UP government.
Some people believe that your comeback in the State will benefit both the party and the State. What do you think?
I can’t say anything. My role in the organisation is determined by the party. I don’t decide for ourselves. Whatever responsibilities have been given to me in the past, I have accepted; and whatever I will be given in future I will accept it willingly.
What are the plans to revive the party in Uttar Pradesh?
Our bad performance in Assembly elections is a matter of great concern for all of us. Party’s State unit is devising new strategies to regain people’s faith. These strategies will be disclosed at the proper occasion. We are preparing for a big fight on the streets of the Uttar Pradesh and now this will be a decisive fight.
Will the BJP benefit by the re-entry of Kalyan Singh into BJP?
Shri Kalyan Singh has been a leader with wider support base. His return to the party fold will certainly benefit the BJP. His attachment with the BJP did not end even when he had joined the Samajwadi Party. In fact, the time has come when all the nationalist forces should join hands and work together.
A large section of the BJP workers and supporters feel that the projection of Narendra Modi at national level will boost up the party’s prospects. What do you feel?
There is no doubt that Modiji is a man of caliber and he is an extremely popular leader, but these decisions are taken only by the party’s parliamentary board. My individual opinion has no meaning.
What issues do you want to be taken up at the national level now onwards?
We want people to make a comparison of the BJP rule with the present Congress rule, be it on economic front, governance, country’s credibility in the international forums, infrastructural development, etc. We managed the economy is such a way that even during 2001 recession the value of rupee did not fall. Economists started saying that India will become one amongst the developed nations by the year 2020. Today, we are lagging far behind due to wrong economic policies and due to corruption of the Union Ministers.
What are your views on the FDI?
We don’t want to develop our economy by foreign money. We do not accept the FDI, because that will enslave us again. The foreign companies will focus on their profits and not our welfare.
Do you support the acquisition of fertile land in the name of SEZ, expressway, etc?
I feel the fertile agricultural land should never be acquired, and never without owners’ consent, and that too, in the case of exigency. We should not ignore the fact that India can develop not only intellectual capital, but also agricultural capital. Government is going to bring the Resettlement and Rehabilitation Bill in which we have given adequate suggestions.
