The Hindu caught up with Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah while he was at Gokak constituency as part of his whirlwind tour of the 15 bypoll-bound Assembly segments. Excerpts from the interview:
Several leaders have accused you of bringing down the coalition government. Why is ‘Siddaramaiah bashing’ a trend among Opposition party leaders and even some Congressmen?
All the allegations are false. Those who are opposed to me ideologically criticise me. I am the target of the right-wing forces as I am a strong critic of the RSS and the Hindutva ideology. They criticise me because they are afraid of me. Many leaders in the BJP, even when they belong to backward classes or deprived castes, have no ideological clarity because they are trained by the RSS. They criticise me on the orders of their ideological leaders. The BJP keeps targeting leaders like M. Mallikarjun Kharge and me. This shows that the BJP and the Sangh Parivar are afraid of liberal and progressive forces committed to secularism and social justice.
You are seen as an arrogant person who cannot take people along.
I am a villager. The only language I know is the language of a villager. I do not look polished. Some people mistake it for arrogance.
You said that youth from all communities, especially backward classes, were being brainwashed by the Hindutva forces. Do you think this trend will change?
It is true that the youth are brainwashed by the Hindutva forces and made to believe in Narendra Modi’s created image. But they are realising that there is nothing in the BJP’s politics except slogans. The economy is in a bad state. Job creation is at the lowest in 46 years. The country’s GDP down to 4.5%, which is the the lowest in decades. How will Mr. Modi or other BJP leaders convince the youth to stay with them? Even the youth from backward classes are under the control of the RSS ideologues in districts like Dakshina Kannada. But that is temporary. Finally, pluralistic democracy will win.
As many as eight of the 15 constituencies going to the polls suffered heavy floods. Has the Congress failed to capitalise on that?
Of course, inadequate flood relief is an issue here. The Congress has raised this issue in campaign. In Maharashtra, the BJP lost in all flood-hit areas. But defection is a bigger issue here.
Do you believe people see defections as an issue?
People are intelligent. They have a clear understanding of the whole process that led to the fall of the government. People are mature enough to know that defection is immoral. We are confident that people will defeat all the defectors.... I strongly believe that political awareness among people has increased. They will consider all things and work to reinstitute a secular democracy. In Indian history, whenever democracy was facing any threat, people have come to the street to save it. People may not speak loudly about it. But they will take a mature decision.
