New Delhi, Calling Congress’ pitch for “soft Hindutva” in Madhya Pradesh “gimmickry” which would not be able to hoodwink people, the BJP on Tuesday said it is all set to return to power because of his government’s development works, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s popularity and its organisational strength.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vice President Vinay Sahasrabuddhe also dismissed any unrest among farmers of the state and said for 20 per cent of the farmers who are not paying their loans, every farmer cannot be made a “beggar” seeking loan waivers.
“All of a sudden they have woken up. They are talking about ‘Ram Van Gaman Path’ (route taken by Lord Ram for his 14-year exile), even cow protection and all these things…
“This, I believe, speaks of the deep-rooted guilty conscience for having neglected the nature of this country. People can’t be hoodwinked by these. People know what exactly are their designs,” Sahasrabuddhe, who is also incharge of BJP’s affairs in Madhya Pradesh, told reporters.
He was reacting to the Congress’ promises of building “gaushalas” (cow sheds) in every gram panchayat, ban on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) “shakhas” and development of Ram Van Gaman Path.
“If they are serious about Ram Van Gaman Path, they should know that the story of Lord Ram starts from Ayodhya and they are not supporting the idea of Ram temple in Ayodhya,” he said.
He said the issues of cow protection, RSS and Ram temple are not being raked up by the BJP but by the opposition party as part of its vote bank politics.
“They are talking about all these while we are talking about development and performance. Since they have nothing to talk on these issues, they are talking of a ban on RSS. They have taken the public discourse to the era of 1977. We are making people aware of this design of Congress,” Sahasrabuddhe said.
Asked about Congress’s promise for waiving loans of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, Sahasrabuddhe claimed that 80 per cent of those who had taken farm loans are making the payment and only 20 per cent are not paying it.
“So, for those 20 per cent why should we make all farmers a “yaachak” (beggar)…that they go with a bowl and request for loan waiver? This is not necessary. To be honest, the farmers of Madhya Pradesh are very successful, honest and capable also. For those who can’t pay, there is a scheme for them. They are not even able to go to markets to sell their products. There is a need for such schemes to help them out,” he said.
The BJP leader rejected that there is any kind of anti-incumbency in Madhya Pradesh and claimed that on the contrary, there is a pro-government sentiment in the state as the government has done a lot of development works.
“Anti-incumbency is a creation of psephologists. It’s not necessary that if a government is there for last 10-15 years, there would be anti-incumbency. If development does not take place and when charges of corruption surface against the leadership, it becomes unpopular…the workers sit in their homes in apathy, then there is a possibility of anti-incumbency. But there is no such situation in Madhya Pradesh,” he said.
Asked about rebellion in Madhya Pradesh and that too by senior party leaders like Ram Krishna Kusmaria and Sartaj Singh, the senior BJP leader said: “There is nothing like retirement in politics. So, people expect to continue and they demand tickets.
“But what we did in the case of Babulal Gaur and Sartaj Singh (is) we conveyed them a message that the party wants them to vacate their seats to open doors for new generation. If they agree, it’s okay, otherwise the organisation takes its own call.”
Asked whether the results of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Mizoram will be a referendum on Modi government, he said: “These days it has been a fashion that even if we lose an election of municipal corporation, it is dubbed as the verdict against the government. But actually it does not happen. Referendum, litmus test are the words coined by the media.”
Sahasrabuddhe claimed that development works of the state government besides Chouhan’s popularity and the party’s strong organisational machinery since the days of Kushabhau Thackrey, will again bring the party back in power.
