Outlook English - Print Subscribers Copy Outlook English, 06 August 2018 | Page 17

SANJAY RAWAT
‘Farmers need
more than waivers’
Congress MP from Ajmer Sachin Pilot is pre­
sident of the Rajasthan unit of the party. On
his watch, the Congress beat the BJP in
three bypolls recently. A likely CM candidate,
he talks to Salik Ahmad on the tussle with
the BJP in the impending assembly polls.
Why hasn’t the Congress named a chief
ministerial candidate? The BJP has said
Vasundhararaje will lead the party.
By announcing Vasundharaji as CM candi­
date, the BJP lost whatever chance it had
of a fight because she is unpopular. The
Con­gress has never, as a convention,
declared its CM candidate. Once we get the
majority, the winning MLAs and leaders
will decide on it.
You demanded a loan waiver for farmers in
Rajasthan. But your ally in Karnataka, the
JD(S), blames coalition constraints (with
Congress) for not being able to do so there.
Whatever the coalition compulsions, the
Congress has never s tood in the way of the
farming community. We have done it in
Punjab. We support a loan waiver in
Karnataka, even in Rajasthan. Farmers need
more than a farm loan waiver.
Rajasthan has huge loans to repay. If
Congress comes to power, will it be able to
write off farmer loans?
Loan waivers are important, but not a solu­
tion. When Vasundharaji became CM, Raj­
asthan’s debt burden was Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
It is Rs 2.4 lakh crore now. Where’s fiscal
prudence? Where’s resource generation?
The state recorded a spate of mob lynching,
mostly tied to cow protection. Do you think
it is one community that is targeted?
years later, Vasundhara has deci­ded to
go all guns blazing into the campaign. A
slogan doing the rounds on social media,
however, throws some light on the
public mood: “Modi tujhse bair nahin,
rani teri khair nahin (We have no
grudges against you, Modi, but we won’t
spare Vasundhara, the queen).”
Meanwhile, the state BJP has got a
new chief after over two months of
speculation about a tussle between
Vasundhara and Shah. She wanted one
of her loyalists and the central leader­
ship was reportedly keener on G.S.
Shekhawat. Eventually, the two sides
agreed on Madan Lal Saini, who had
lost the last three elections he conte­
sted and is known to be a loose cannon.
It is about law and order, and equal rights. It
is not about the Congress or BJP, Hindus or
Muslims. It is about citizens’ lives being tar­
geted; there are powers in the government
who are abetting such crimes. Vasundharaji
is a mute spectator. This is done to polarise
communities before polls.
There are reports of clashes among
Congress workers. What’s happening?
I think we have done 195 meetings…. At
some places people have broken discipline
out of over-enthusiasm. We have taken act­
ion against them. I think the enthusiasm,
shows of strength are good signs. It shows
people think we are going to win.
While Congress units in MP and Chha­tt­is­
garh want to ally with the Bahujan Samaj
Party, the Rajasthan wing is reluctant.
The BSP does get some votes in Rajasthan, but it is a bipolar state where the main con­
test is between the BJP and the Congress.
Ashok Gehlot has been CM twice. Isn’t he
the Congress’s best bet in Rajasthan?
Gehlotji is now general secretary in charge
of organisation and we are proud and
happy that someone from Rajasthan is
playing a national role in the Congress.
You charge Raje with corruption, but you are
named in the Paradise Papers offshore inv­
estment scandal. How do you respond?
Let the Union and state governments inv­
estigate. We’ve not heard about the Lalit
Modi scandal in which Vasundharaji is
invo­lved. The Vyapam scam happened, but
they cleared Shivraj Singh Chouhan.... The
Congress and other opposition leaders are
not going to get bogged down by BJP’s
propaganda to malign us. O
Replying to a question on farmers’ sui­
cides in the state, he recently told rep­
orters that Rajasthan farmers are
unlikely to commit suicide as they are
used to hard work and struggle. Asked
about resentment among BJP MLAs over
the CM allegedly not meeting them, Saini
tells Outlook, “It’s wrong to say she does
not meet people. We (men) can talk while
brushing our teeth, shaving or washing
clothes. Women can’t do that, so they have
two hours less in a day. And there is gov­
ernment work as well…. The Congress
does not even have a CM candidate.”
In the Rajasthan Congress, there is a
tussle between Sachin Pilot and Ashok
Gehlot. Two-time CM Gehlot, who was
made an All India Congress Committee general secretary earlier this year, has
often said that Rajasthan remains his
karmabhoomi, besides taking digs at
Pilot. After the Congress lost the
Dholpur bypolls, where Pilot was at the
campaign’s forefront, Gehlot blamed
the party’s “overconfidence”.
While Gehlot’s role in the Gujarat and
Karnataka assembly polls has exalted
his stature, Pilot has been the state
Congress chief since the drubbing the
party received in 2013 and made a mark
in the bypolls as well as the local body
elections. Many observers say the emer­
gence of two camps under the two lead­
ers is denting the party’s campaign. Ask
them about the tussle and infighting,
and they reply only in platitudes. O
6 August 2018 OUTLOOK 17