Devendra Fadnavis is a copycat CM who has mastered event management, says Supriya Sule

My father is a fighter who performs better in crisis, says the Lok Sabha MP from Baramati

October 11, 2019 01:38 am | Updated 10:22 am IST - Mumbai

Supriya Sule

Supriya Sule

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Supriya Sule, who is the MP from Baramati, campaigns for the party at a time when senior leaders have ditched the party leaving her father and founder president Sharad Pawar to wage a lone battle against the might of the BJP. She talks to The Hindu on the performance of the Devendra Fadnavis government, how her father loves it when the odds are high, and thanks the BJP leadership for constantly targeting her family.

With senior leaders quitting the NCP, new leadership has taken centrestage in your party’s campaign. Which issues affecting the youth are on your agenda?

The most important agenda in any election is always economy and development. Development which leads to wealth and jobs. The slowdown of economy wasn’t hurting people during Lok Sabha elections, but it has started now. We are getting feedback everywhere we go. The numbers coming out are around 40% less than the previous year. Growing unemployment and slowdown is out there to see. We are going to focus on these issues.

What is the reason that people seem to be ignoring this and voting for the BJP as it happened in Lok Sabha?

Lok Sabha was about assertive leadership of Narendra Modi, without going in to who is right or wrong. But look at the fiasco at Houston. Our foreign minister had to stay back in United States for two week for firefighting as the Senate there did not like the involvement of other country’s leader in their internal matter. Article 370 is not going fill the stomachs of people. I am not against nationalism. Every person should have a pride for their State or country. But I hope the people of this State will not vote for extremism of any kind.

What is your opinion on BJP trying to bring in these national issues in Assembly polls?

Devendra Fadnavis is a copycat who is talking about Narendra Modi’s work because he has nothing to show of himself in Maharashtra. He either criticises the NCP or talks of Article 370. He tries to do what Modiji does. You don’t have your own achievements and that’s why you are copying someone else. He is the official translator of Maharashtra, who translates central schemes. Show us investments in Maharashtra. What happened to Foxxcon? Tell us about jobs, realty sector. It all shows that Maharashtra is lagging behind. Take any government report. The State has toppled from the top position. Nagpur was one of the nicest cities, but data says that crime has increased manifold. The State is also lagging behind on all social sectors, and also on women’s safety. Which is the smart city in Maharashtra? This not only defames BJP but my State as well. He has failed as a CM who has done nothing but event management.

 

But politically he is winning over Opposition leaders, increasing your troubles.

People are going [to BJP] for the wrong reasons. In Vashi, a person (Ganesh Naik) who used to award 35 Assembly tickets, could not even get two. The BJP candidate in Malshiras, did not even name Vijaydada (Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil). I see it as a larger game. Take these leaders and finish them off politically. Once you join the BJP, inquiry against you stops. Sons of all our big leaders are with the BJP. Each one has some charge or the other. Data says that they are not only dynasts but facing allegations of corruption as well.

Fadnavis is the BJP’s face for CM post. Who is the Opposition’s face?

Is he? I have been hearing names of Chandrakant Patil and Pankaja Munde as well. For us, Maharashtra has no lack of political talent. An NCP chief minister will take Maharashtra back to number one position within two-and-a-half years. We will construct Chhatrapati Shivaji and Dr. Ambedkar memorials within a year.

Is Shiv Sena’s surrender in front of the BJP a display of its double standards?

I don’t think these are double standards, there is something else to it. When a couple fights, one half never backs down so suddenly. Where was this maturity in last five years? In Delhi, everyone knows that files of inquiries of BJP allies are open. No cases have been closed.

How do you see BJP’s style of functioning?

This government works only on greed for power and arrogance born out of it. Also, there is complete disregard to the Opposition. Our inputs, even to better the policy, are not accepted. Certain claims made by party leaders are so away from reality. This is harmful to healthy parliamentary democracy. A true leader enjoys healthy opposition. Even multi-billion dollar corporates encourage healthy debate, different opinions and arguments. The BJP sees nothing but political power .

Are you seeing an increased response to Sharad Pawar after the whole ED episode in Maharashtra?

He simply loves crisis situations. He likes tackling it head-on and solving it. He enjoys it the most when it comes to strategising and performs better under pressure than desperation. This election has become all of BJP versus Sharad Pawar. He stood up against Indira Gandhi, had differences with Soniaji, and is now taking on Amit Shah. That’s his personality. He is a fighter... Even Soniaji is a fighter.

BJP says that the Pawars are facing a family feud. What’s your response?

I am flattened at the BJP’s obsession with the Pawar family. You obsess with something you crave for. How can I have a conflict with Ajit Pawar when we have exactly opposite aspirations? Till the time both of us are alive, there will be no feud between us. Families are not like saas-bahu television serials. But thanks to BJP’s cheap politics, we get a lot of media space.

0 / 0
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.