‘ It’s BJP vs others now’
Q. How do you assess the political threat to the BJP by the talks of replicating the Bihar model of alliance of secular parties in the near future? A. These parties are opportunist and proponents of pseudo- secularism. RJD chief Lalu Yadav ruled Bihar for a long time and gave people only dacoity and corruption. In a bid to stop this jungle raj, the BJP entered into an alliance with the JD( U) and made Nitish Kumar chief minister. But he broke off the alliance and the people taught him a lesson. And now his party has forged an alliance with the RJD, which is unethical.
Q. Can the BJP rise to the challenge posed by politics of arithmetic?
A. The nature of politics has changed and the BJP is at the centrestage. It’s the BJP vs others now. People have risen above caste identities to vote for politics of development. Now people cannot be misguided in the name of caste or religion. They desire better lives, good education, etc.
Q. Is the bogey of “secularism under threat” strong enough to consolidate Muslims politically?
A. It has been the conspiracy and campaign of the first family of the Congress to hide behind secularism to cover their corruption and misgovernance. Other parties like the SP, RJD, JD( U) copy the Congress model. But 243 communal incidents took place in UP in 2013, 8,000 rapes have taken place in the state under Akhilesh Yadav and 38,000 incidents of violence have been reported. So it is clear with what motive they talk of secularism.