INTERVIEW with Janta Dal
(United) President Sharad Yadav for Teekhi Baat on IBN7
PC:
You seem to be very sad.
SY:
Laughs
PC:
Why are you sad, you are never seen as such? You are a fighter, hardworking
person
SY:
There is a lot of work load
PC:
What is the work?
SY:
The talks on the alliance, we are speaking to our party men all over the
country.
PC:
It seems that the whole pressure of saving the alliance is on Sharad Yadav
SY:
If something is saved, it is because of everybody’s work.
PC:
But there is one leader, behind who people walk
SY:
There are many leaders in NDA
PC:
Who are the many leaders of NDA? The me one person who is leader of NDA
SY:
Advaniji
PC:
You consider him as leader
SY:
Yes
PC:
His is NDA leader according to you
SY:
Sure, his is.
PC:
What is the problem with Nitish?
SY:
A lot of water has flown under the bridge. They (BJP) have called their party
meeting. And the conditions that have emerged lately, Advaniji’s resignation,
then elections of Maharajganj, following which they (BJP) formed a ‘Sangarsh
samiti’, we said it is their domain, But following which the speeches given by
BJP leaders.
PC:
Who Narendra Modi,
SY:
NO
PC:
Which leaders
SY:
All the leaders whose names have come up.
PC:
But nobody except him (Modi) has spoken anything
SY:
Many people have said
PC:
Amit Shah has said.
SY:
Many leaders spoke
PC:
You mean the way in which those leaders spoke was not right
SY:
For the past 17 years, who are working within the framework that was made by
Atalji, Advaniji and us. But the statements given recently have drifted out of
that framework.
PC:
You feel it is a transgression of NDA’s policy
SY:
Not full transgression, but it seemed drifting out of the framework.
PC:
Narendra Modi included, it seems you are affected a bit by his speech too
SY:
By everybody’s speech
PC:
You are feeling hurt
SY:
By everybody’s speech
PC:
You too fear Narendra Modi?
SY:I
don’t fear, I never take anybody’s name.
PC:
I am taking name, but you said leaders, he is among leaders
SY:
People will know, only four five leaders have given speeches
PC:
I heard only one person’s speech
SY:
I heard many people’s speeches.
PC:
You felt they are drifting from NDA framework
SY:
That is not the sole reason. Let me tell you a lot of water has flown under the
bridge.
PC:
I have seen, it seems so from your and their way of speaking. A new era is
starting there (BJP)
SY:
There are some tensions from some days in the alliance that we ran all these
years with Atalji and Advaniji. There is not one reason for the tension, there
are many, which I cannot say not but will say in the party meeting.
PC:
What is left of NDA, BJP, Shiv Sena, Akali Dal and you, there are only four
constituents
SY:
What is left of UPA?
PC:
UPA has a team and you don’t have tensions with UPA?
SY:
There is Shiv Sena, Akali Dal, JD (U), means there are 70 to 80 seats.
PC:
Which means you will have rift with all three? Shiv Sena, Akali Dal are with
BJP, come what may
SY:
Where is the talk of separation happening now? There is no talk of separation,
we are still part of NDA. And we are calling meeting, a BJP meeting was held,
now we are calling meeting of our party. Out meeting happens once every six
months, we are calling this meeting a little early.
PC:
BJP national executive meeting happened, they announced their party leader for
campaigning, regarding which you have no objection. You just have objection to
the language used in the speeches thereafter, which you feel was drifting from
NDA’s framework
SY:
Yes, it is right
PC:
But you said NDA leader is Advani saab? Their own party does not consider him
their leader? Then how can he become your leader?
SY:
We have called a meeting. We are saying, all of us, party people had come
together because of Atalji and Advaniji.
PC:
But Advaniji is active now
SY:
Atalji is unwell, but the way, in which Advaniji wrote a letter, following
which his resignation was taken back. Then the whole thing was revealed. When
they are not listening to him (Advaniji), in Goa, they didn’t listen to him.
PC:
You are saying if they don’t listen to him, how they will listen to you?
SY:
How will they listen to us? We felt that when a person who built the whole
party was not listened to.
PC:
Certainly, from 2 seats to 190
SY:
They are not listening to him, and they are sidelining him on the pretext of
generation change. A person with age has experience, Jaiprakashji was on
dialysis, he got everybody together by saying that all come together otherwise
I will do anything. And even in that condition, the whole country listened to
him. See all over the world, who can deny something what Nelson Mandela says.
Who has initiated this generation change in BJP? This is surprising, not in
interest of the country? Along with age, experience also counts.
PC:
New people will come to lead, Jayaprakash Narayan lead and
SY:
Prabhuji, new people came forward earlier too, Jayaprakash was young.
PC:
He could have become Prime Minister, but he didn’t
SY:
Jaiprakashji was young, Lohaiji was young, haven’t young people come forward
before the generation change happening now.
PC:
You mean the NDA running on philosophy of Atalji and Advaniji. Do you think
that NDA cannot be imagined without Advaniji.
SY:
Certainly.
PC:
which means if there is no Advaniji, there is no NDA?
SY:
That is certain. When he is not listened to, how NDA can run?
PC:
Even you don’t want to imagine NDA without Advani? And any other NDA partner
too wont accept?
SY:
It is right, nobody will accept. Shiv Sena too says it wants Advaniji.
PC:
Nitishji is talking dual membership, Sangh
SY:
Nitishji has not spoken one word. He said that he announced that party will
decide in its meeting.
PC:
Nitishji has spoken against Modi. He is also said he wants secular Prime
Minister, will now allow Modi to come in Bihar.
SY:
Gujarat chief minister went to Kolkata, talking about Gujarat model there, he
said, that it will be good if Bihar agrees to Gujarat Model. On that statement,
Nitish Kumar spoke for 10-15 minutes, I am saying that a model of one state
cannot be implement on this country. Geography, rivers, land, culture, language
is different. The way of one state, cannot be the way of the whole country,
there is no bigger truth than this.
PC:
But one will have to agree that Modi delivered on development issue, his model
is not bad?
SY:
We never said that development has not happened in Gujarat? We never said
anything like that.
PC:
Both NDA governments are running well, in Gujarat and in Bihar
SY:
Reasons being we never contest in alliance with BJP in Gujarat. Earlier, we had
8 MLA’s there, then four, now one. In Gujarat, we never allied with BJP.
PC:
You fell till such time Modi is there you won’t have an alliance there
SY:
You want to take name and make statement.
PC:
Earlier alliance did happen
SY:
No, if there is conflict between with somebody, he is a person, while the
differences may be ideological, hence we contest separately. He is in BJP, we
don’t want to form opinion based on a person.
PC:
But fight is happening around in individual
SY:
I will give you copy of national executive agenda, check if a word has been
written against anybody.
PC:
But you say time and again that the country’s Prime Minister should be secular
SY:
We said that we are working within the framework made by Atalji and Advaniji
with us. The agenda says the whole society is to be seen with one vision and
everybody must be taken together.
PC:
You are saying that you don’t see that the BJP’s new generation has the capacity
to take everybody together with them; your speech makes it seem sp.
SY:
During Atal, Advani’s time there was a tack to the horse, which has been left
now.
PC:
There is no tack now
SY:
Yes
PC:
You feel that the BJP you allied with and the BJP now have a lot of difference
SY:
It is not an issue of lot of difference, but there are some roadblocks in
functioning.
PC:
You have no dialogue with Narendra Modi
SY:
Why not, there is a lot of dialogue
PC:
At the party level
SY:
We sit together if there is a party meeting
PC:
He has not come for NDA meeting
SY:
He has
PC:
When was he called for NDA meeting
SY:
He has come on one or two occasions
PC:
You don’t have political discussions with him? Like you do with Advaniji?
SY:
There is interaction with Advani, with Rajnath, in the same manner we have
interaction.
PC:
You don’t have that same level of interaction with him or is not possible
SY:
Why not? We are in one country.
PC:
If he sits in NDA meeting, for BJP
SY:
He has been sitting in NDA meetings
PC:
He has never sat for NDA meetings
SY:
Has has
PC:
When did Modi saab sit
SY:
We had called all chief ministers
PC:
That is a different issue, am speaking of NDA co-ordination meeting
SY:
They are not a part of it
PC:
But if he is represented from BJP’s side then
SY:
We will see when it comes to that
PC:
you would have problems then?
SY:
No, what problems? We will have talks with him., till now there has been
no problem.
PC:
There was no problem before, but there is problem now because the new chief of
the campaign committee has been announced and it seems he is on way to become
Prime Minister, If he is made member of NDA co-ordination committee.
SY:
When his name was not even announced, somebody told me such an such person is
being appointed chief of campaign committee, I told him it is a decision of
their party, by keeping whom where they want to play chess. But the appointment
is not of NDA campaign committee chief.
PC:
All right, he is not in NDA, but there are people of BJP in NDA, besides
Advaniji, president too is there
SY:
Besides president, many other leaders are there.
PC:
Leader of opposition is present, and after that if they also made campaign
committee chief part of team, then you will have talks with him
SY:
Your asking question like when will the tears fall, when the old men will die.
PC:
When will the old men die, when will the tears fall, you don’t want to
answer my question
SY:
Your question is hypothetical, when it happens, it will come to it
PC:
When it happens, will it be acceptable to you
SY:
Talks would be held with BJP
PC:
BJP won’t ask you regarding its appointment
SY:
They do
PC:
Advaniji asks
SY:
Everybody asks each other
PC:
Subramaniam Swamy is part of co-ordination committee
SY:
That was done by asking people
PC:
You are convenor
SY:
I was asked and it was postponed for one-two months.
PC:
Which means NDA co-ordination committee changes, appointments cannot happen
without asking you
SY:
Yes
PC:
If Modi’s name crops up, you will hold talks
SY:
If anybody’s name crops up, talks would be held
PC:
Jairam Ramesh said Modi is Bhasmasura, he has devoured Advani, he will devour
others too
SY:
What we have go to do with his statement, since when has he started doing
politics? I will not reply to political statement and every person’s statement.
PC:
Many years, he is a central minister
SY:
So what, Ramesh is a good friend of mine. But I have no friendship with
his statement.
PC:
The quarrel is between Nitish
SY:
There is no difference between me and Nitish, we have a ideological
relationship, Lohiaji, Karpuri Thakur, Jaiprakashji, Chaudhary Charan Singh, we
all together, the ideological relations between all of us.
PC:
You are remembering names of all Samajwadi leaders
SY:
You know that the relationship of ideology is bigger than blood relations. I
and Nitish have ideological relations.
PC:
Nitish Kumar wants to separate because
SY:
I had gone to Madhepura, he came to me and told me about the prevailing
conditions, to which I didn’t have answer for many questions.
PC:
Seems Nitish is in tension due to your recent loss in Maharajganj
SY:
The whole party in in tension, not only Nitish
PC:
People are ceased supporting you there
SY:
There are many reasons, because all BJP leaders
PC:
Did not work with all their heart?
SY:
Some did
PC:
But others didn’t
SY:
There was some problem in our party too
PC:
You want to say your party sabotaged to make Nitish lose
SY:
No, I am saying there are many factors, out of which this is one factor. And
statements made indicated that RJD didn’t win, rather BJP has won
PC:
You feel RSS people sabotaged
SY:
There were seven byelections, we won all seven, but in this by elections, the
margin of loss was high.
PC:
You mean to say BJP has won in Maharajganj not Laloo
SY:
This is the feeling
PC:
Nitish is also feeling the same
SY:
No, I have said this thing, Nitish has not said it
PC:
Doesn’t it seem Nitish is unpopular, it is said that he is very arrogant, he is
like BJP leaders, he feels how Modi has become bigger than him, hence it is a
personal fight, not an fight of ideology?
SY:
We left the Government of India after Mandal was implemented. After Mandal,
Advaniji sat on Rath, BJP said that if anything happens to Advani…till 4
pm, I sat and thought that it is not safe in UP, and got him arrested
PC:
Laloo was with you then
SY:
Yes, and principles we left he Government of India.
PC:
The one thing about Samajwadi is, the leaders equal the number of parties
SY:
The thing in this country is that those to contest on principles are
criticised, but not those you loot the country
PC:
No, rather image of all of you is good, but you fight amongst each other
SY:
Dacoits don’t fight, only those who want to go on the right path do so
PC:
Nitish Kumar said that talks regarding federal front are happening now, we are
talking to each other. You are President, you too would be consulted before any
decision on alliance is taken. In talks and meeting of your party tomorrow, this
issue too would be discussed.
SY:
Now it is NDA, we and BJP people have met each other, talks have happened with
Nitishji, these talks would be put forward in the party meet, talks would be
held on differences, after pondering on these issues, we will decide what to do
PC:
You want to save NDA, but what are your conditions
SY:
That we cannot say now. We have spoken to BJP people.
PC:
The condition is that Prime Minister candidate should be announced prior
SY:
This is what you media are saying to give news
PC:
Then what is the issue of discussion
SY:
We will not tell you the issue to be discussed
PC:
Prime Minister candidate
SY:
Discussions are happening regarding why there is tension between our relations
now
PC:
But one issue would be that Prime Minister candidate should be decided in NDA
meeting, not before that
SY:
Certainly, that is there
PC:
They say their parliamentary board will decide
SY:
After parliamentary board where have they said that discussion would not be
held with NDA? Earlier too talks would be held.
PC:
Nobody had a question mark on Atalji, hence there was no question that you or
anybody else would speak against Atalji. But now there are many leaders eyeing
Prime Ministerial post
SY:
Hence, talks would be held. Nobody can function without NDA. They will put
forth a same, because they are the biggest party, it is their right, but
without discussion and common acceptance in NDA, nobody can become Prime
Minister.
PC:
You are saying BJP as the biggest party will propose name, but till NDA does
not accept, he cannot become Prime Minister.
SY:
There is no question about that.
PC:
If that is not agreeable you will leave NDA
SY:
Why will we leave, we move with consensus.
PC:
You go by consensus; they will say it is their right
SY:
No they cannot say anything like that. It is a matter of family.
PC:
Last time there was no other candidate, this time there is a fight
SY:
Advaniji was there
PC:
Advaniji was announced prior by NDA as their prime ministerial candidate.
PC
:What do you feel, should prime ministerial candidate be announced before
elections by NDA
SY:
It will be very good.
PC:
If NDA announces candidate before elections
SY:
It will be very good
PC:
What will be the benefit
SY:
The benefit is that things would be clear, the picture of NDA would be clear.
PC:
Hence, you would discuss this issues too that it is in NDA’s best interest to
declare Prime Ministerial candidate before elections
SY:
Yes, it is right
PC:
And it can be anybody
SY:
Yes, can be anybody
PC:
First right is of BJP the NDA
SY:
Then NDA
PC:
Hence, you would not go without it, but what will you do if such thing does not
happen
SY:
It is going on for 17 years.
PC:
Sharadji it was running for 17 years, but there was no controversy, but you
have no name, they have names from BJP’s side.
SY:
I have said that they will propose.
PC:
Your condition is that it is better to announce prime ministerial candidate
prior to elections
SY:
Yes, we think it is better if Prime Ministerial candidate is announced before
elections.
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