Naidu: The issue of who will be PM is secondary
RAHUL NOT AN AUTOMATIC CHOICE, ANDHRA CHIEF MINISTER SAYS
Senior Pages Editor
What was supposed to be a 12-hour demonstration to demand, from the Centre, a special status for the state of Andhra Pradesh, seamlessly transformed itself into a platform for promoting the ‘mahagathbandhan’ or grand alliance of parties opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). And holding court at the portico of Andhra Bhavan here in the capital on Monday was none other than Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu himself.
At the dharna — termed as ‘Dharma Porata Deeksha’, or protest for justice — the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief was quite magnanimous in accepting virtually every single request from a never-ending stream of party workers, supporters and followers to pose for a ‘selfie’ or a group photo. As Naidu raised the pitch for Andhra Pradesh’s demands before the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he fielded questions from Gulf News. Following are excerpts from a freewheeling chat:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slighted attempts by non-BJP parties to form an anti-BJP front. He has even referred to ‘mahagathbandhan’ as a ‘mahamilawat’ or ‘grand adulteration’ ...
Let the honourable prime minister not forget that there are several states in India where the BJP is in power as part of a coalition. Does that mean that all such coalition governments are also ‘milawati’ or adulterated?
This prime minister is only good at oratory. It’s just word play. And he has this bad habit of hitting opposition parties and their leaders below the belt. His ‘milawati’ comment is below the belt. It is unbecoming of a prime minister to stoop so low.
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This anti-BJP front has thrown open opportunities for regional parties to hold sway at the Centre. Aren’t there too many characters now within the Opposition fold with prime ministerial ambitions?
We need not look too much into the future. Right now, our priority is to make sure that BJP is removed from power. For that, the non-BJP Opposition parties have joined hands on the basis of a common
■ ■ ■ minimum programme. We must make sure that the current government doesn’t get a second term. The issue of who will become the next prime minister is only secondary. We will come to a decision on that on the basis of a broad-based consensus between the alliance partners.
Some Opposition leaders, who are part of this ‘mahagathbandhan’, have cautioned that Congress president Rahul Gandhi isn’t going to be an automatic choice for PM. Do you support this view?
No one is an automatic choice. Even Rahul ji himself has admitted this. We will first have to make sure we defeat the BJP. Only then will we be able to pick the right candidate
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for prime minister. But Rahul ji is indeed a strong contender for the post. With time, he has evolved.
Post-elections, if Modi seeks your support, in lieu of granting special status to Andhra Pradesh, will you reconsider your current anti-Modi stance?
The point is that Narendra Modi had made such a promise during his 2014 campaign. How can we forget that? He was the one who had assured that if BJP comes to power at the Centre, Andhra Pradesh will be granted special status.
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But it’s been four long years since then, and nothing has happened towards fulfilling that promise. It is unfortunate that Modi has lied. So there is no question of trusting him a second time.
What are the real big issues before India today? Unemployment, lack of adequate support for farmers and agrarian distress, price rise … these are the real issues that the Central Government and all of us ought to be talking about. These are the problems that Modi should be addressing.
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