Lucknow: His office can pass for a corporate honcho’s chamber. Ergonomic mesh chairs line his triangular office desk, facing a 56-inch TV and a Bose music system. On a large chest are statues of Gandhi, Hindu deities Balaji and Hanuman. Miniature metallic bicycles and embossed photos of socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia — both iconic symbols of socialist Samajwadi Party — appear out of place in this high-tech office overlooking a well-manicured bottle-palm lined lawn.
Akhilesh Yadav, the 40-year-old Chief Minister of India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh — home to around 200 million people — is facing his career’s toughest election beginning April 7. Known as India’s heartland, UP sends 80 lawmakers to Parliament where Yadav’s Samajwadi Party has 22 members.
The forthcoming national elections are not only a make-or-break battle for Hindutva poster boy Narendra Modi but also critical for Yadav’s Samajwadi Party to remain nationally relevant. An adverse showing in this elections may set a stage for his ouster in 2017 assembly polls.
Yadav, however, remains confident of bettering his party’s 2009 performance. In an interview to Gulf News at his Kalidas Marg residence, Yadav spoke at length on several issues — from Modi’s controversial record on Gujarat riots, Modi government’s performance compared to his father Mulayam Singh Yadav’s. Following are the excerpts:
How many seats will your party win in the Lok Sabha polls?
The Bharatiya Janata Party and its Hindutva affiliates are making a desperate bid to improve their tally in UP. The Congress is clueless and doesn’t know how to handle this state or whom to fight. The Congress has been ruling India for the last 10 years and they should have highlighted their government’s achievements. The Congress is not making a serious attempt to fight the BJP. In sharp contrast, my party is making all attempts to stop BJP. Our recent rallies had bigger crowds than BJP rallies. Modi is telling people about development in Gujarat but in the last two years, my government has done a lot for people: it is paying unemployment allowances to 1.2 million youngsters, financially helping girls who have passed school. Muslim girls are getting Rs30,000. My government given laptops to 1.5 million youths, free irrigation and subsidies to farmers and unorganised sector workers and free health care for the poor. On the strength of my government’s welfare schemes, Samajwadi Party will fight communal forces in UP. The SP will improve on its 2009 tally and emerge as the single largest party in the state.
In March 2012 you got a handsome mandate. Later, you squandered that goodwill by inducting controversial politicians like Raja Bhaiyya in your cabinet. Why?
This is an old issue and not relevant to the forthcoming national elections. Today, people are asking who can stop Modi and BJP. I am fighting elections on the performance of my government. It is unfortunate that some parties are taking a communal route to power. We socialists have embraced secularism and are fighting elections by highlighting our achievements. I am confident people of this state will stop communal forces like BJP from coming to power.
Dozens of communal riots have taken place in the last two years under your watch. What do you say?
It would be wrong to describe all law and order incidents as communal riots. Now that elections are round the corner, both BJP and Bahujan Samaj Party are trying to play up these incidents. Both these parties have given a communal colour to these incidents and I can give you examples. In Meerut, a dead cow became a communal flashpoint after a BJP legislator paraded the animal in public.
Similarly in Roorkee, controversy over an inter-religious wedding led to a Hindu-Muslim riot. In Muzaffarnagar too, a small incident led to a major flare-up. A BJP legislator circulated a YouTube clip made in Afghanistan, showing Muslims killing a Hindu. Communal violence broke out after BJP leaders made inflammatory speeches in front of media. Read Lohia’s book Hindu Banam Hindu and you will learn how we are stopping communal forces.
If that is the case then why do Muslims continue to blame your government for poor handling of riots? Why are Muslims angry with your party?
My government has done everything it could do for my Muslim brothers after the Muzaffarnagar riots. Muzaffarnagar was unfortunate and should not have happened, many people witnessed the killing of their family members and saw destruction of their homes. More shocking is the fact that the perpetrators were known to victims and both communities interacted socially.
The violence (in August 2013) began at 6.30am and police managed to control the riots by 2pm. The army was called in immediately and we saved the city. After the riots, my government helped the victims by providing jobs, financial assistance for rehabilitation and rebuilding of damaged houses and provided security to the victims.
What do you think about Narendra Modi?
Narendra Modi has no clue about Uttar Pradesh and is here as a visitor. His choice of Varanasi constituency is a deliberate move so that his polarising presence may benefit BJP in UP. No party except BJP uses pictures of Hindu deities in their election campaign. The BJP is playing with the Hindu religion. My party will give a befitting reply to the communal designs of BJP, which will lose elections in UP.
Secular and moderate Hindus feel Modi should not become the prime minister because of his controversial record in handling anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat. Do you share this perception?
Socialist parties will never want to see communal forces in power. That is why my father and my party supported the Congress government. We backed Congress to keep communal forces at bay. We do have a problem with economic policies of Congress. However, Modi has a long history of communal politics and my party will stop him at any cost. I don’t think BJP will have the numbers to form government.
Who is running the government in UP? There’s a strong perception that your father is running the show by proxy.
Am I seeking anybody’s help while answering your questions? I am not seeking help from anybody in running this government. He (Mulayam) is my father and I am working with other senior leaders of my party. Consultations are part of any democratically elected government but ultimately it’s me who has to take the call. The buck stops with me. My opponents are spreading these rumours because they cannot question my performance.
You made an election promise to withdraw false terror cases against Muslims. What happened to that?
Not a single innocent Muslim was implicated by UP police under my watch and guard. My government has withdrawn a number of false cases against innocent Muslims lodged before I took over in 2012. I can provide you a list but please don’t publish their names otherwise they may face legal trouble. This process of legal review will continue. Not just Muslims, I have withdrawn false cases against social activists, Congress and BJP workers too.
There’s a strong perception that your government helped BJP leader Varun Gandhi who was prosecuted for making derogatory speeches against Muslims.
Those cases are not yet finished. Ultimately the courts will decide Gandhi’s culpability. My government will consider action against government employees who were made witnesses and who turned hostile during the court trial.
What is your government doing in UP, a state ranked low on most social and economic parameters?
My government is focusing on state’s infrastructure. All districts will be connected with a four-lane highway and a six-lane Agra-Lucknow expressway has been approved.
New power plants are coming up and we are improving transmission and distribution infrastructure. By 2016 we will provide power for 20 to 24 hours in cities and 14 to 18 hours in villages. Also, new medical colleges are coming up, adding 500 new medical seats.
Bobby Naqvi is the Editor of XPRESS, a sister publication of Gulf News.
