As an alumna, I feel bad and hurt over the JNU controversy: Nirmala

Union Minister for Commerce and spokesperson of the ruling BJP Nirmala Sitharaman was an alumna of the Jawharlal Nehru University at a time of another police crackdown on the campus in 1983. She speaks to Nistula Hebbar on JNU, free trade agreements and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

April 19, 2016 11:45 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 04:25 am IST

B.LINE: Nirmala Sitharaman ,MOS , Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge)  (story by Richa), in New Delhi ,on 08.4.16 Pic : Kamal Narang

B.LINE: Nirmala Sitharaman ,MOS , Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) (story by Richa), in New Delhi ,on 08.4.16 Pic : Kamal Narang

Beginning with Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), why is it that we seem to have trouble in last mile connectivity in inking these pacts, specifically the India-EU FTA.

Each deal is going through the process. There is no over arching reason for the deal not to go through, in fact, if there is one over arching reason affecting the negotiations, it would be our keenness for the deal to go through. After the EU summit I wrote to my counterpart to set dates for negotiations. There are critical issues on both sides, on which, even with political will you can only go that far and no further. Therefore it is on those issues, where I cannot be more flexible than I am now.

We recently had an interaction organised by the RIS on plurilateral agreement and other economic groupings, where we said that if the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) does not appear to be moving faster it is because the offer list that we provided cannot be more ambitious than it is. We have to look after the interests of our farmers, artisans and craftsmen.

The NDA government is heading to its second anniversary, in that time, what have you found more difficult to deal with with – the work or the propaganda?

I have one of those Ministries, which decides things at a policy level and expect those policies to have its own cascading effect and with it have impact on production, productivity, export and earnings. It is happening but unfortunately it has been pitted against a global environment over which we have no control, and counter to what we are doing, rather than helping exports, it is hindering it. For me to have anything impactful on the ground, factors which are beyond me also come into play.

So (RBI governor) Raghuram Rajan wasn’t wrong when he said that India was like a “one-eyed king in the land of the blind”?

His choice of words, the metaphors that you use are unnecessarily giving a handle to people like Mani Shankar Aiyar to give quirky interpretations like “who is this one eyed king that Raghuram Rajan is referring to?” etc. I would like people like Raghuram Rajan, who know the truths behind the economy and the dynamics of the economy to be able to speak with better choice of words. Otherwise who is questioning his assessment of the economy?

Coming to JNU, your alma mater, how do you look at the government action in JNU, could it have been handled differently?

Handled differently by whom? I would say that the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) could have handled differently.

How is that? You were also part of the university when in 1983, the police entered the campus, and a zero year was declared.

Yes, but it was an incident of a different nature, it involved disciplinary action against a student, then his room being padlocked. We as students protested this at the Vice Chancellor’s office, Professor P N Shrivastava was the VC then I think. We gheraoed him, somebody from his office called the police. Some of us were taken to the cantonment area at midnight, we gave fake names to the police, most of us were let off, but some students, around 67, were kept in Tihar for 25 days. Priya Ranjan Das Mohanty, a Free Thinker was JNUSU President. So JNU students knew what it was to protest, what can send you to jail, what action administrations can take. But this time, the JNUSU, if they are honest should admit, that they probably didn’t know what they were walking into.

You are remembering Afzal Guru, somebody who went through the judicial process in this country, every aspect of it, every layer of courts, including the clemency petition, after which he was hanged, by the UPA govt. If the students in the University are marking the day, they should remember what it means for this democracy. The very democracy that has given us the opportunity to protest and think about issues close to our heart.

Therefore I still want JNUSU to honestly introspect on it. JNU is a university that has set exemplary standards in many ways. I remember Delhi Univ students used to ask us whether we studied in such a political atmosphere, but JNU students excelled. Do you not understand the seriousness of what you are doing, what that day meant? In this country, where sometimes, we feel justice is critically delayed, due process was followed. You are marking the memory of someone who was part of the attack on our Parliament. Could the JNUSU have handled it better?

Was it justified, however, to attach the charge of sedition on the students?

You may finally go into questions about should the police have come into the campus or sedition be applied.

..or even allowed the beating of students and journalists in Court?

Now you are digressing again from the issue. What happened at the university should be looked at in itself, what happened later does not dilute what happened inside the campus. What happened outside, which we disapprove of, should not dilute the seriousness of what happened inside.

As an alumna, I feel bad and hurt over the controversy. This is a campus where we protested the smallest injustice and went to jail. Post which we came back and did a lot of things and the campus went on. Never has it become a party to forces that were speaking against the country. You may criticise Indira Gandhi, or even the present Prime Minister, but to talk against the integrity of the country? Criticise the government, we will invite you for a dialogue, not side with those who are against the country, attacked the Parliament. That is not the JNUSU I want to remember, the JNUSU walked into a terrain that was populated by people who they as student leaders should not have associated with.

How do you react to comments, from your own Cabinet colleagues that “students should study, not indulge in politics” ?

No, student politics has its own role in building an individual, but it cannot become a platform for, even inadvertently, a handmaiden of forces who are inimical to this country. It will be gracious if JNUSU sat down, introspected, and assessed with their members on just what happened.

The events in JNU have somehow led to a debate on nationalism, hyper nationalism and finally to the chanting of Bharat Mata ki Jai. How far do you think this could go?

This is a pattern by forces who want to trap the BJP into one reactionary box. First, the incident in JNU happens, it is related to Freedom of Expression, then when the students and journalists are beaten up it is shown as something that is associated with the party. After that, someone else speaks of Bharat Mata ki Jai in another context. All of this is presented as a complex whole and BJP is asked to respond.

Every narrative by some sections of society, need not be a narrative for which the BJP should be answerable, there are some narratives that I wish should be taken to the Congress, the Left and others and also the BJP.

But you also have members of your party like Sakshi Maharaj who weigh in on all these issues from an extreme angle?

Mani Shankar Aiyyar’s contributions are no less, the exchange between Pinrayi Vijayan and V S Achutanandan is also as shocking sometimes, but these are not looked at in the same way.

Digressing from JNU, Prime Minister Modi has, at every party meeting stressed on workers and MPs to go to the countryside and speak about the government’s work. Is there a feedback that there is no reflection of government work on the ground?

The simple idea is that Members of Parliament especially in a state like UP find themselves ignored by the ruling party. Their priorities are to concentrate on their constituencies and address issues there, in the process losing the opportunity at the constituency level to interact with the local media, to talk about the Centre’s work. The macro level narrative in states is always around how the Centre is not giving enough money, releasing funds meant for the state, etc. There is a need to counter act that.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.