How do you justify the Samajwadi Party’s stand to oppose the Lokpal Bill when almost all other parties supported it in Parliament?
What we have seen in the past few weeks is the phenomenon of political leaders yielding to the crowds. But we believe that the crowds should follow the leaders, not the other way round. A lot of political leaders are hesitating to speak the truth.
Laws are being framed but their effectiveness is lost in implementation. Should we then conclude that the existing laws were not good enough to deal with issues relating to corruption? The Lokpal will also consist of people from within the society. How can we agree to the idea that all, including the Prime Minister, are corrupt and only those who would be in the Lokpal council are honest?
We are in the unfortunate situation in which the Prime Minister and chief ministers would be interrogated by investigating officers. We should thoroughly examine all aspects before enacting a law with regard to Lokpal.
Does your opposition have something to do with personal apprehensions about the leadership of your party as cases against the SP’s first family are pending in courts?
Cases of disproportionate assets against the family of Mulayam Singh Yadav were thrust by the Centre with motives of vengeance. Should
Mr Yadav be declared dishonest for a matter concerning `2 crore?
Mr Yadav has been the country’s defence minister and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times. Had he been dishonest, there should have been cases involving more than `1,000 crore against him. But that’s not so. A case of mere `2 crore is being dragged out. This is laughable. We are not scared because we face the people, who have been electing us for years despite this corruption case.
Don’t you think that the SP’s stand on Lokpal is going against the tide, especially after the Aam Aadmi Party’s astounding victory in Delhi?
Not at all. In the Lok Sabha we were alone in opposing the Constitutional amendment bill for reservation for women. We were also alone in opposing reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Lokpal issue has been around since the time of the first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. After him there were Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Why did they not enact a Lokpal law? Were they all corrupt? This Lokpal Bill is a joke on the country.
How do you analyse the AAP’s victory? Will it change the course of politics at the national level?
Delhi alone cannot set a pattern for the nation. Along with Delhi there were elections in other states where people voted for a particular party. Hamne bahut baar dudh main ubaal aate hue dekha hai, lekin paani ke chand cheehnton se unhe baithte hue bhi dekha hai (We have seen milk coming to a boil many times, but we have also seen it calm down after a few drops of water are sprinkled on it). We would welcome the AAP if it contested elections in UP, which has a population of 22 crore. But the nationwide trend favours regional parties, as has been the case in UP, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Punjab.
The SP and the Congress have had a cat-and-mouse relationship since the UPA came to power in 2004. The Congress survives in office with the support of the SP, but it hits you in UP by raking up the communal-secular issue. How do you see things?
The Congress and the BJP are both our enemies, and we seek to damage them. They do not want other parties to come to power at the Centre. We have supported the Congress from the outside on issues. The way the Congress is spearheading its campaign in UP, it’s clear that we are foes. We support the UPA government only to stop the communal forces from coming to power.
Don’t you think that the SP cadre gets demoralised when Mulayam Singh Yadav praises the BJP workers, and asks partymen to learn from the saffron party?
We should appreciate good things in others. Mulayam Singh Yadav has praised L.K. Advani earlier also. Can’t we say good things about others in a democracy? Nehruji used to appreciate socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. Mr Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi during Bangladesh’s war of liberation.
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, is going strong and is focusing on UP. Is this a challenge for the SP?
We are not taking
Mr Modi lightly. The BJP is a force and is slowly polarising the country. Mulayam Singhji has said that only the SP can stop Mr Modi from becoming Prime Minister. We can assure you that we are not weakened, and we will stop
Mr Modi.
Isn’t it true that with Mr Modi around, and with talk of a BSP-Congress pre-poll alliance in the air, the SP is on a sticky wicket in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?
We are aware of the internal arrangements the BSP and the Congress have. But these parties will be defeated. Muslims in UP know that the BSP had been soft on Mr Modi. But we are not just doing the politics of Muslims and there are other sections also. You may rest assured that we will defeat Mr Modi. We are not at all getting isolated. In UP, the 2014 Lok Sabha election will be a straight fight between the SP and the BJP.
Will the Third Front remain a mirage?
The Third Front will definitely be formed after the election. On November 30, 17 parties came together to fight against communalism, including Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Regional parties are gaining in strength. We, in the SP, want Mulayam Singhji to become Prime Minister, but we are saying that there is no pre-condition that he should be the prime ministerial candidate of the Third Front. The issue will be decided after the election on the basis of the strength of the various parties.
What we have seen in the past few weeks is the phenomenon of political leaders yielding to the crowds. But we believe that the crowds should follow the leaders, not the other way round. A lot of political leaders are hesitating to speak the truth.
Laws are being framed but their effectiveness is lost in implementation. Should we then conclude that the existing laws were not good enough to deal with issues relating to corruption? The Lokpal will also consist of people from within the society. How can we agree to the idea that all, including the Prime Minister, are corrupt and only those who would be in the Lokpal council are honest?
We are in the unfortunate situation in which the Prime Minister and chief ministers would be interrogated by investigating officers. We should thoroughly examine all aspects before enacting a law with regard to Lokpal.
Does your opposition have something to do with personal apprehensions about the leadership of your party as cases against the SP’s first family are pending in courts?
Cases of disproportionate assets against the family of Mulayam Singh Yadav were thrust by the Centre with motives of vengeance. Should
Mr Yadav be declared dishonest for a matter concerning `2 crore?
Mr Yadav has been the country’s defence minister and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh four times. Had he been dishonest, there should have been cases involving more than `1,000 crore against him. But that’s not so. A case of mere `2 crore is being dragged out. This is laughable. We are not scared because we face the people, who have been electing us for years despite this corruption case.
Don’t you think that the SP’s stand on Lokpal is going against the tide, especially after the Aam Aadmi Party’s astounding victory in Delhi?
Not at all. In the Lok Sabha we were alone in opposing the Constitutional amendment bill for reservation for women. We were also alone in opposing reservation in promotion for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The Lokpal issue has been around since the time of the first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. After him there were Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, V.P. Singh and Atal Behari Vajpayee. Why did they not enact a Lokpal law? Were they all corrupt? This Lokpal Bill is a joke on the country.
How do you analyse the AAP’s victory? Will it change the course of politics at the national level?
Delhi alone cannot set a pattern for the nation. Along with Delhi there were elections in other states where people voted for a particular party. Hamne bahut baar dudh main ubaal aate hue dekha hai, lekin paani ke chand cheehnton se unhe baithte hue bhi dekha hai (We have seen milk coming to a boil many times, but we have also seen it calm down after a few drops of water are sprinkled on it). We would welcome the AAP if it contested elections in UP, which has a population of 22 crore. But the nationwide trend favours regional parties, as has been the case in UP, West Bengal, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Punjab.
The SP and the Congress have had a cat-and-mouse relationship since the UPA came to power in 2004. The Congress survives in office with the support of the SP, but it hits you in UP by raking up the communal-secular issue. How do you see things?
The Congress and the BJP are both our enemies, and we seek to damage them. They do not want other parties to come to power at the Centre. We have supported the Congress from the outside on issues. The way the Congress is spearheading its campaign in UP, it’s clear that we are foes. We support the UPA government only to stop the communal forces from coming to power.
Don’t you think that the SP cadre gets demoralised when Mulayam Singh Yadav praises the BJP workers, and asks partymen to learn from the saffron party?
We should appreciate good things in others. Mulayam Singh Yadav has praised L.K. Advani earlier also. Can’t we say good things about others in a democracy? Nehruji used to appreciate socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia. Mr Vajpayee praised Indira Gandhi during Bangladesh’s war of liberation.
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, is going strong and is focusing on UP. Is this a challenge for the SP?
We are not taking
Mr Modi lightly. The BJP is a force and is slowly polarising the country. Mulayam Singhji has said that only the SP can stop Mr Modi from becoming Prime Minister. We can assure you that we are not weakened, and we will stop
Mr Modi.
Isn’t it true that with Mr Modi around, and with talk of a BSP-Congress pre-poll alliance in the air, the SP is on a sticky wicket in the context of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?
We are aware of the internal arrangements the BSP and the Congress have. But these parties will be defeated. Muslims in UP know that the BSP had been soft on Mr Modi. But we are not just doing the politics of Muslims and there are other sections also. You may rest assured that we will defeat Mr Modi. We are not at all getting isolated. In UP, the 2014 Lok Sabha election will be a straight fight between the SP and the BJP.
Will the Third Front remain a mirage?
The Third Front will definitely be formed after the election. On November 30, 17 parties came together to fight against communalism, including Sharad Pawar’s NCP. Regional parties are gaining in strength. We, in the SP, want Mulayam Singhji to become Prime Minister, but we are saying that there is no pre-condition that he should be the prime ministerial candidate of the Third Front. The issue will be decided after the election on the basis of the strength of the various parties.
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