Manoj Sinha, Minister of State with independent charge of the Ministry of Communications and Ghazipur MP, says a ‘mismatched’ Opposition alliance cannot provide an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
How do you look at Opposition unity, specifically the challenge posed by the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh?
It is clear that the opposition parties have acknowledged that the country’s agenda is being set by the BJP, and others are merely reacting to it. The BJP is the most powerful political force now and a single political party will not be able to combat us. That is why the only alternative that people can think up is an agglomeration of forces, otherwise inimical to each other, to combat the BJP.
It is for the people of the country to decide whether they want the effective leadership of Prime Minister Modi or this “bemail” (mismatched) alliance. I believe the SP and the BSP alliance, once it happens, will, of course, be a big alliance but by the time the Lok Sabha elections come around, people will start to feel that it is a mismatch and cannot really provide an alternative. People will give us a second chance on the basis of the Modi government’s work of the last four years.
The alliance seemed to work well in the recent bypolls to Gorakhpur, Phulpur and Kairana though.
The bypoll results cannot be a pointer to what will happen in the Lok Sabha polls. Our support base, especially among the poor, is intact. Some people, of course, are upset that the BJP — which used to count on a specific support base — is now usurping their space among the poor and the indigent, over whom they (opposition parties) used to think they had thekedaari (contractual rights). That is why these things are being said.
But it is being said that the U.P. government has engendered an upper caste assertion that has alienated the Dalits and weaker sections; at least 4 Dalit MPs from your party in U.P. have protested this.
None of these MPs have raised questions on the government on the basis of caste discrimination. Uttar Pradesh cannot be understood from the perspective of Delhi. Those who do know U.P., know that farmers form the bulk of the population there, and they do not hail from only one caste — they have upper, lower and middle ranging castes in the grouping. I do not recall in the last 25-30 years that electricity for irrigation was available during day light hours. I have seen those days when farmers used to wait late into the night that a bulb would light up and power would be available for turning on motors to pump water into the fields. The Yogi government has made it possible for irrigation to be done in the day time.
Secondly, there has been a record-breaking procurement of wheat this year, and within five days, payments have been made to farmers. Sugar mills had to run overtime to process the sugar cane. It is true that we lost the bypolls in Kairana, and we have taken the lessons of that election on board. It may have been some organisational issues but we will apply our selves to correction.
But four BJP MPs, all from Uttar Pradesh and belonging to the Dalit community have openly spoken out against the government run by your party.
I had answered you, that none of these MPs had said the government was discriminating on the basis of caste. They may have been upset over other things, and I believe that it is to the credit of the party that these kind of complaints can be made publicly. In most other parties, if you complain against the party’s own government, you cannot remain in the party. It is a positive thing in favour of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that we believe in this kind of internal democracy.
Why is the BJP and the government going over board in marking the anniversary of the Emergency this year?
From the time of Morarjibhai’s (former prime minister Morarji Desai) government we have been marking the anniversary of the Emergency, I do not see anything unusual in the way it was marked this year. What is different is the way others are perceiving it, and hoping that the country forgets. I believe that it should be marked with fervour so that we don’t forget how democracy was murdered in this country and who was behind it.
Now that there is a BJP led government at the Centre and in UP, what is the road ahead for the construction of a Ram Mandir in Ayodhya; how will you explain the delay to your voter base?
The BJP has clarified its stand in its various manifestos and on various occasions. There are two ways that the construction of the temple can take place — either by the order of the Court or by mutual talks and agreement. The Constitution is supreme in this country and we believe in it and our government will not do anything unconstitutional.
As a party we want that the temple should be constructed, not unconstitutionally though.
It is our job to explain to our voters about the issue and our voters know that the BJP believes in the constitution and will not go above that.
The government is making efforts in the direction of resolving the issue, if you look at the railway station now being constructed in Ayodhya, it will be clear to pilgrims and others that they have arrived at the Janmabhoomi of prabhu Shri Ram.
