As part of an endeavour to bring leaders of politics, business and society to interact directly with our readers, The Pioneer will periodically carry detailed interviews of prominent national personalities. This interview, of former Minister for External Affairs and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, is the first in this series
Elections are happening in four States this year and polls are not predicting the Congress coming to power. Where do you see the strategy of the party falteringIJ
We were not in power in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. But we were in power in Assam and Kerala. And it is very important that Assam and Kerala remain with us. Despite the incumbency issues, my reading of the situation is that we will again be coming into power, maybe with a different margin. Also, today I think that just as it is important for the Congress to sustain and retain whatever ground that it already has, it’s equally important for the BJP to show that it is not a shrinking party but a growing party. Having pitched itself very high after the parliamentary elections, it has a very tough task explaining why it looks like a party in retreat.
What about West Bengal where you aligned with the leftIJ How well do you expect the Congress to perform thereIJ
When our alliance was announced, there wasn’t the same kind of optimism. But reports are coming in now that there is a shift in public opinion. We may do very well along with the left Front. Sometimes, one event can turn an election; for example, the collapse of the bridge in Kolkata, or the ongoing investigations in the fraud cases.
We are seeing it more often that the Congress is entering into alliances with regional parties as a smaller partner. How do you see that playing out in the long runIJ
There is nothing better than having your own strength. But if you have no strength, then there is no choice but to align. If you go back to the Shimla conclave, we said that we will get into alliances with an intention to one day gain a full majority. While the BJP came into power with a full majority, I feel that it was an aberration. I feel the trend of alliances still remains intact in the country. We haven’t yet got enough strength to go alone.
But Nitish Kumar has now made an appeal to form a maha-gathbandhan. Will the Congress agree to be a minor partnerIJ
A realistic analysis needs to be done as to who should be a minor partner and who should be a major partner. Even with 44 seats in the lok Sabha, we are larger than anyone else after the BJP.
Do you think that Nitish Kumar made this announcement a little prematurelyIJ
For those like him, an alliance is an expansion. We give up territory, they gain territory. This is how alliances work for us today. We are reducing ourselves by cutting our losses. But ultimately, this has to be used as a springboard to the Congress’s full revival.
In Punjab, Arvind Kejriwal is coming up as a strong player. Who do you see as your main opponent in that StateIJ
I think Kejriwal is a dark horse, not a horse in a shining armour. And a dark horse needs to be treated as one. I think with right strategy, we can whip this horse. But I think Kejriwal has mounted a challenge because he is a guerrilla fighter in politics. A guerrilla fighter can do a lot of damage to a standing army because of his hit-and-run politics. But the army has to retrain and re-equip itself to deal with such fighters. How we do that, is for our leadership in Punjab to figure out.
We keep hearing rumours that a member of the Gandhi family, particularly Priyanka Vadra, would be leading the campaign in Uttar Pradesh and be the chief ministerial candidate. Is this trueIJ
She has never given a clear indication that she will lead the campaign or become the Chief Minister. But our workers desire that she should also pitch into politics.
What alliances do you possibly see in Uttar Pradesh for your partyIJ
It’s very difficult to say. But I will tell you that our party workers prefer the BSP. We have been in an alliance with Mayawati in the past. Also, because there is a natural alliance between her natural vote and our natural vote: Dalit-Muslim vote combination. The SP’s vote-bank has traditionally been opposed to the Congress’s vote-bank.
You were the External Affairs Minister during the UPA regime. How do you rate India’s foreign policy during the BJP ruleIJ
This Government is the weakest on its foreign policy. Quite often, writers say that even if Prime minister Narendra Modi fails on domestic front, he is doing very well on the foreign policy front. You give me a single achievement in foreign policy in the last one year. What he comes and says, “I’ve done”, is not foreign policy. Foreign policy is what we see on the ground.
I am not going to rush into criticising Modi over Pakistan, because the Pakistan relationship is a difficult one. But look at where Modi started and where he is in one year’s time. When he started, he said, “We can’t talk and have guns shooting at the same time”. Then he went and kissed Nawaz Sharif on his cheeks. And what have we got todayIJ Has Pakistan’s conduct improved even one inchIJ
What should the alternative strategy beIJ
It has to be realistic. Personal chemistry is important in diplomacy but it cannot be a substitute for an objective exchange of mutual interests. We are not going to give any quick formula because the Government doesn’t even make any attempt to talk to us. But all I can say is that hugs-and-kisses is not foreign policy.
What are your or your party’s view on BalochistanIJ
It’s an internal issue of Pakistan. How can we have double standards and say you don’t interfere in our internal issues but we will interfere in yoursIJ But if there is a larger worldwide issue about human rights, one can discuss it. But we should not have double standards.
What is your view on the Ishrat Jahan issue with your colleague P Chidambaram in the thick of the controversyIJ
What controversyIJ Chidambaram did what a fair person would do without being influenced by emotion. The Constitution of this country is committed to the rule of law — unless there is a war, in which case the rules of war take over. We never said that rules of war apply to people who violate the criminal code of our country and who join hands with terrorists.
We would fight them; we have a duty to fight them; we have a duty to protect ourselves. But we use the law of the land to protect ourselves. We are not going to let a Rambo run around killing people. Because the problem with a Rambo is that the Rambo can make a mistake. You can rewind a movie, but you can’t rewind life.
But it has become a controversy because of the change in the affidavit, isn’t itIJ
This Government is changing its affidavit on Aligarh Muslim University. If you can change an affidavit in one case, you can change it in another case. And Chidambaram has very clearly said that when the first affidavit was given, there was a need to clarify the contents of that affidavit. So a second affidavit with a clarification was given.
The GST Bill has been one of the most awaited ones ever since the general election, but the Congress has moved amendments including one suggesting capping of GST rate at 18 per cent. Why not allow the Government to decide tax ratesIJ
It is my party’s view. What I can say is that, if the Government has a problem, then it should talk to my party. The problem with the regime is that it doesn’t take advice from people who have experience, both good and bad.
After two years of this Government coming to power, are you satisfied with the economic growth projectionsIJ
Even the RBI Governor is not satisfied. I can’t go by some loud-mouth BJP propagandists saying they have done very well. We know that household savings have dropped, agricultural production has dropped, money offtake has dropped, banks’ liquidity has dropped, manufacturing sector has dropped, exports have dropped... And yet, the GDP is growing! That’s very strange. It’s like saying that you will have recession in the country but that the GDP will grow.
What is your opinion on the controversy surrounding the chanting of ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’IJ The RSS says that it is not forcing anyone, but the debate remains alive.
These people are keeping the debate alive because they have nothing else to offer. These are complete diversionary tactics. And even people who say they have a problem (saying Bharat Mata ki jai), why do they have a problemIJ I don’t understand it. But all the same, I am not going to go screaming and shouting, ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ etc, just to ‘prove’ my nationalist credentials to people.
I actually like Jai Hind much more because I first heard it as a child from the ramparts of the Red Fort. And I really liked it because it was said by Jawaharlal Nehru. Jai Hind has become a part of my national consciousness. But I often talk of India as my mother.
Now, you may call your mother, ammi; I call my mother, amma; somebody else calls his or her mother ‘mom’. The point is not about what comes on our lips but of what is in our hearts. This is something that I strongly believe in.