In a telephonic interview, former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and chosen successor to RJD chief Lalu PrasadTejashwi Yadav speaks about the Opposition rally called by his father in Patna on Sunday and the possible shape of Opposition politics in the months ahead. Excerpts:
What’s the aim of Lalu Prasad’s August 27 rally?
With the BJP’s rise, the RSS and its sister organisations have set up systems to act as a parallel government without responsibility but with immense nuisance value…. in Delhi, the government employs right-wing propaganda to hide its failures. Every educational and constitutional body is systematically being infested with Sangh Parivar members and rightist ideology, to change the minds of the youth and the ethos of the nation beyond repair...
The Opposition and those opposing the propaganda-driven high-handedness of the Sangh Parivar are being hounded.... If we stay mute,.. future generations will never forgive us. Our rally is to get the country’s populace to rally behind a unified and tolerant opposition for a better, vibrant and united future.
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati, and Sitaram Yechury are skipping the rally. Is that a setback?
The Desh Bachao, Bhajpa Bhagao Maharally is an RJD rally, not a rally of all Opposition parties. So too much must not be read into the inability of top leaders of other parties (to attend the rally).Those unable to attend… have conveyed their personal reasons ... Soniaji personally spoke to me on Thursday; Rahulji has prior commitments, and we were aware of it. The party will be represented by other leaders. The CPI(M) is not coming, probably because of the political situation in West Bengal. (BSP chief) Mayawatiji is not coming but her talking about sharing of seats means she’s open to unity moves with the Samajwadi Party (SP).That’s a positive sign. U.P., Bihar and Jharkhand together have 134 seats of which the BJP holds 115 seats currently. If the RJD, SP, BSP, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha get together, they can win over 100 Lok Sabha seats.
All these parties are based on similar principles. All of us will have to respect each other's concerns and set aside inter-party rivalry... Some new parties like the Biju Janata Dal, the Asom Gana Parishad and the Indian National Lok Dal are coming.
The grand alliance government’s collapse was not just a setback for the RJD, but the entire secular Opposition. Your comment.
The mahagatbandhan [grand alliance] was a perfect model to check the Sangh Parivar and BJP. But if someone, who was either being blackmailed or had a vested interest, decided to part ways ... that doesn't mean the idea was faulty or it can’t be replicated with more principled and stable partners. ...Even in the so-called Modi wave, only 32% of the voters voted for the BJP... All we have to ensure is a united Opposition with an alternative positive narrative which can expose PM Modi, who has performed miserably on all fronts.
Will the Congress lead the Opposition and, if so, who will head it — Sonia Gandhi or Rahul?
As the biggest and the only national party in the Opposition with a pan-Indian presence, Congress can get the maximum seats and lead the Opposition. Who will lead Congress is for the Congress to decide.
Is a United Front-type situation — in which H.D. Deve Gowda became PM in 1996, with the Congress supporting from outside — possible in 2019?
Past experience shows this isn’t a good idea — it’s not good for stability. It’s better to have a United Progressive Alliance-I-type situation in which the Congress was supported by all major regional parties.
Nitish Kumar recently said: “The mandate was for serving the people of Bihar and not for enriching one family”...
After having ditched the mandate of the voters ...he had to come up with baseless allegations to justify his unjustifiable action. Levelling accusations is easy, but what stopped him from coming up with facts to prove that I or my family had used the opportunity provided by the voters for our benefit in these 20 months?
…Nitish ji needed a reason to surrender in front of the BJP to maintain his credibility. The BJP was more than happy to comply. Thus we had a string of politically inspired accusations, cases and raids… His present cabinet has 75% tainted ministers.
What then was Mr. Kumar’s real reason for returning to the BJP, given that he broke his association with the party in 2013?
There is more to it than meets the eye! There must be some skeletons hidden in the closet of this U-turn specialist that he simply surrendered in front of the might of Narendra Damodardas Modi, whom he was accusing of causing all the hardships in the country not very long ago. One reason could be the threat that the murder charges against him would get fast-tracked by the BJP.
