One must not mix religion and politics, and Lord Ram is not an “event”, said senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot in an interview with The Hindu. He also spoke about the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, Congress’s relevance in Hindi heartland and the recent exit of Milind Deora.
Excerpts.
In Assam, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is facing disruptions. You are not allowed inside Guwahati, your leaders have been attacked, and posters vandalised. What does it signal?
It is most unfortunate. A yatra that is actually seeking to send the message of peace, harmony, and unity is under attack by the ruling dispensation in Assam. This shows two things. One, fear of the massive response the yatra has received; second, it shows a lot of insecurity. You can’t handle Opposition leaders taking out a yatra, which is a very benign meet and greet event. It means there is something amiss within the system of governance in the State. It sets a bad precedent in our democracy. The Congress party, its leader Rahul Gandhi, or any of us won’t be deterred by this act of hooliganism. In fact, it will give us more strength and energy, because if this is the reaction then we must be doing something right.
The Congress is not attending the Ram Temple consecration ceremony. How do you battle the perception of Congress being “anti-Hindu”?
One must not mix religion and politics. Lord Ram is not an event. Those who worship him are not limited by the political boundaries of India. He is omnipresent. We should not allow any one to politicise something that is so sacrosanct and deeply entrenched in our value system and culture. And the more important question is who is to invite and what is the invite for? It is unheard of that people are invited to go to a temple. Going to a temple is a matter of my own faith. The Shankaracharyas are not going because of their own reasons. This is a temple for everyone, open to worship, and people will go according to their faith, not at a time chosen by someone. It is a futile exercise to try and limit it to an invitee, an invitation, and an event.
Recently, your friend Milind Deora quit the party. After his exit, once again, a photograph of five leaders namely Mr. Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada, RPN Singh and you has gone viral on social media. Of the five, four have left the Congress, prompting people to ask when is Mr. Pilot quitting? Are you dissatisfied with the party?
Everyone is free to make their ideological choice. Whether the decision was the right or wrong one is for the voters to decide and time will tell. I believe I stand for something, I believe that I have never shied away from challenges. When I worked in Rajasthan as the Opposition leader, that was the most challenging time for the Congress party in the State. But I think one must dig in their heels and fight the good fight. Because this country needs a robust Opposition. And more so, because it is a difficult time for our country and our democracy, with institutions nurtured over 70 years being delegitimised with surgical precision. If someone is not willing to fight that fight, he or she will find better things to do. I have committed myself to doing something in the last 23 years and I will continue to do that, because I believe in it.
What went wrong in Rajasthan?
Despite all our efforts we weren’t able to break the three-decade cycle of ‘once BJP, once Congress’. We did win 69 seats and our vote share didn’t drop. But the fact is that we didn’t win the election. We had a discussion in Delhi about our shortcomings. I personally believe that if we had actually changed the sitting members of Assembly and given new people a chance the results could have been different. The data suggests that any time the Congress has given a chance to younger or a fresher face, people have responded with renewed faith in giving them that victory. Regardless, the party still stands strong. I have been touring a few districts, despite the loss, there is energy, there is support and people are looking to help the Congress win the Lok Sabha election.
Not just Rajasthan, you lost Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Is the Congress really relevant in the Hindi heartland?
I think Chhattisgarh was absolutely unexpected, the government had done a good job, schemes were well received, people were excited, workers were enthused. We had a very, very large majority. So we definitely thought of forming the government in Chhattisgarh and it came as a surprise for all of us. We will make amends on whatever may have gone wrong. We are absolutely relevant in the Hindi heartland. One or two losses in a few States cannot dictate the future of the Congress party. With due regard to all our alliance partners, they have a role to play, very significant at that. But pan-India it is only the Congress that can take on and challenge the BJP. In the Hindi heartland, we may have suffered a few losses, but that does not mean Congress workers have disappeared or Congress vote share has come down dramatically.
Considering the hiccups in Punjab, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh in seat-sharing talks, do you believe, INDIA parties will be able to have a seat-sharing arrangement in place ahead of the general election?
Seat sharing is a challenging task, because the alliance partners are regional parties and for them that is the only space they have, so obviously the ‘give and take’ has to be done in a way all parties involved are comfortable with, which is not an easy task. All parties including the Congress understand that the larger objective at hand is not to score points but to defeat the NDA. A united Opposition is exactly what the BJP does not want. These murmurs that we hear about different parties saying different things, is just a ploy to create confusion, but I think the leaderships of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) parties are wise and mature. They will do the right thing and seat sharing will happen in the right spirit.
