Yashwant Sinha lends voice to Trinamool

Lending his support to the Trinamool in the Lok Sabha polls, former Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha campaigned for party candidate for Asansol Sreemati Dev Varma (Moon Moon Sen) earlier this week.

Among the most vocal critics of the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Sinha said the future of democracy in the country depended on the results of the Lok Sabha election.

“This election is the battle for the future of democracy in the country which is being attacked every day by the ruling party and the Prime Minister. It is the battle for the very idea of India as we have known over centuries. Therefore, this election and its outcome is very important,” he told

The Hindu in an interview.

The former Finance Minister described demonetisation as a “more sinister design” than the people had actually thought, alleging that black money from demonetisation was turned white for a commission that had come to the BJP in the form of electoral bonds.

“Demonetisation not merely a policy failure or decision taken in haste but a more sinister design to take advantage of the black money capture it, turn black money into white and take 40% commission from it. The money has come to the BJP through electoral bonds. This is the money which has given a huge advantage to the BJP in all the recent elections,” he said. Mr. Sinha said that something was seriously wrong with the process of procurement of Rafale jets, and said that Election Commission had been unable to take action against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

You are campaigning for Trinamool Congress candidates. What do you think are this party chances?

I have participated in a couple of meetings and my experience is restricted to only few areas in Asansol , so I cannot pronounce a judgement. But the response in the meeting are encouraging . I think the regional parties all over the country and the regional leaders will do very well. In their respective state they are the challengers to the BJP. Therefore after the polls they will emerge a major force in the national politics.

During the campaign you are raising the demometisation among other issues.

Demometisation was a more sinister design than we had actually thought. What happened to the black money which was thought will be removed from the system? The government's own estimates as per the material presented by the Attorney General in the Supreme Court was that four to five thousand crores of black money will be caught. What happened to black money if 99.3% currency has come back into the system?

It's is not merely a policy failure or decision taken in haste but a more sinister design to take advantage of the black money and capture it, turn black money into white and take 40% commission from it. This is the money which has given a huge advantage to the BJP in all the elections. This is precisely the reason as to why the BJP has introduced this electoral bond scheme so that nobody will know who are the donors.

There cannot be anything more un-transparent than the electoral bonds. Today BJP has the money no political party in the country ever had. If the BJP fails to get 272, they will use the money to buy parties in wholesale and purchase MPs in retail.

Are the irregularities related to Rafale deal an issue in the polls?

In the procedure of defence procurement there is role of Defence Ministry and Finance Ministry - the Prime Ministers Office has no role in the process till the matter reaches Cabinet Commitee of Security, which is headed by the Prime Minister. It is now clear that not only was the Prime Minister's Office involved but Prime Minister was personally involved in the negotiating the whole process.

The slogan 'Chowkidaar Chor Hai,' was frequently used by the Congress party in their rallies. The Supreme Court has, however, issued a contempt notice to Congress president on the issue. I do not support 'Chowkidaar Chor Hai,' nor do I support the slogan of 'Modi Modi.' In democratic discourse, one cannot brand the Opposition a thief. But there is something seriously wrong with the process of procurement of Rafale fighter jets.

How important do you think this election is?

This election is a battle for the future of democracy in a country which is being attacked every day by the ruling party and the Prime Minister. It is the battle for the very idea of India as we have known over centuries. Therefore, this election is very different. The Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi was a political step as a result of which she lost her own seat. This undeclared emergency with heavy dose of communalism cloaked as nationalism is very dangerous.

Are you satisfied with the way elections are being held, particularly the role of Election Commission of India?

When the Prime Minister went to cast his vote, it was clear violation of code of conduct. What has happened to the Election Commission? The Prime Minister is asking vote over Balakot, over Army. They are violating the model code of conduct every day and the Election Commission is only issuing notices and conducting inquiries. The responsibility for holding free and fair polls lies with this institution. Election Commission has turned into a handicapped institution. It appears to be a dwarf before the Prime Minister, therefore when allegations are made against others, they are being barred from campaigning. Does the law of land not apply to the Prime Minister? Is the PM above the law of country? Then the democracy is in danger. If they get a chance to rule for another five years they will stifle life out of our democratic system.