Union Minister Nitin Gadkari speaks to The Hindu on a range of issues such as Air India disinvestment, ally Shiv Sena, Opposition parties joining hands, special category status for Andhra Pradesh and whether BJP has delivered on its promise of Acche Din. Excerpts from an interview:
Thursday is the last day for interested bidders to submit their bids for Air India disinvestment, and since you are part of the group of Ministers overseeing the stake sale, what will happen to the process if no one comes forward?
We still have one more day to go... Let us see how the response is and then we will take a decision.
One of the many reasons private players have been apprehensive about the Air India stake sale is that the government has decided to retain 24% stake. Why won’t the government pull out of Air India completely?
Air India carries a sentimental value for the country (Air India ke saath desh ki ek bhavna judi hui hai). That is why 51% stake will be with a company owned by an Indian citizen and the government will keep 24% stake with itself, while a foreign player can buy the remaining share.
But private players don’t want government interference?
No, there won’t be (any government interference). Take the example of Hindustan Zinc.
It was worth ₹400 crore when we disinvested it. We retained 26% share. Today, that company is worth ₹2 lakh crore and the value of our share is ₹55,000 crore.
If we don’t get the right price, will you not sell Air India?
Let us wait until Thursday.
Oil prices are at an all-time high. Any plan to bring relief to the citizens?
Right now petrol and diesel don’t come under GST. Once they are brought under GST, oil prices will drop by ₹5-₹6 and at the same time State governments will see a boost in their revenue.
The alliance with the Shiv Sena looks to be like a marriage that requires counselling.
Do you understand Marathi? There is a Marathi saying, “Tujha majha zame na, tujha vachun karme na” (neither can we live with each other, nor without each other), that is the situation between the Shiv Sena and us. How can I speculate on why the Shiv Sena is upset. You will have to ask them that question. I believe that our alliance with them was on the basis of a common belief in Hindutva, that was the strength. On this issue there is no dispute. So why should there be such talk, I don’t know. Secondly, the ground reality also has to be understood.
At one point of time we (BJP) were in a secondary role, then we fought the Assembly elections separately and got more seats than them. They now being the junior partner cannot expect that we will give them the top spot. Politics is a game of compulsions, limitations and contradictions and everyone has to understand that.
In the fourth year of the Modi government we are also seeing a big move towards Opposition unity.
Those who never wanted to share a stage with each other, shake hands with each other or even exchange pleasantries with each other are now embracing each other. It proves that we (BJP) are the real architects of this Opposition unity.
The fear that was created in the Opposition ranks because of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP’s expansion, that is the main reason for the unity in the Opposition. That two plus two should add up to four is never the case in politics. Therefore we are confident that we shall win in 2019 on the basis of the work we have done.
But in 2004 the Congress by various alliances did come back to power, that too could happen in 2019?
That this unity of the Opposition will persist on a long-term basis is a difficult and impossible concept. I don’t need to tell you about how they got together to form the government in Karnataka but are yet to constitute the Council of Ministers. These people will have a real problem when ticket distribution starts.
In a seat where a Samajwadi Party leader has claims if you give a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) candidate ticket or vice versa, it won’t work as there is a lot of bitterness between the cadres on the ground. This was evident in the Rajya Sabha polls for U.P., where a partner of the SP said he would support the party but not the BSP. That’s why it’s a lot more complicated than just arithmetic.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has accused your government of betrayal, what do you have to say?
The departments that I have headed have always been proactive in helping out Andhra Pradesh, and that cannot be done without directions from Prime Minister Modi. The NDA government has been very cooperative towards State governments, so I don’t buy the TDP argument. We cannot give what is not possible, like the Special Category Status.
The slogan for the fourth anniversary celebrations of the government is “saaf niyat, sahi vikas” (good intentions, right development). Has the BJP then climbed down from having brought “Achhe Din” (good days)?
Achhe din is all about acknowledging what you have. People are never satisfied with what they have. He who has a cycle wants a scooter, he who has a scooter wants a car, he who has one car wants four, and the man with four cars wants a jet. Compared to the UPA era, the rate of food inflation has come down from 12% to 3%, infrastructure has improved, we are putting in projects that will bring down pollution by 50%, isn’t that a relief?
Today, under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak Yojana, so many villages have been connected, we have projects worth one lakh crores in the pipeline for infrastructure alone.
That comparison with what was in the past should be done, that will reveal that we are seeing achhe din (good days).
