‘No need to worry about reservation; PM strengthened it during decade in power’
It is Congress that has diluted reservation for the Other Backward Classes by giving quota to Muslims, says Assam Chief Minister; BJP will win at least 11 of the 14 seats in the State, he says as he dismisses Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi’s remarks on ‘
Before embarking on another day of hectic campaigning, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke on the BJP’s electoral prospects in Assam. He also hit out at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for alleging that Assam is under “maa raj”, noting that she has not even won a municipal election. Edited excerpts:
What is your target for the Lok Sabha election? Of the 14 seats in Assam, how many seats is the BJP hoping to win?
We are working on a range of 11 to 13 seats, with 11 being the minimum and 13 being the maximum. I think Dhubri will be a dicult one. Our partner, Asom Gana Parishad, is contesting there. They always elect Congress or AIUDF [All India United Democratic Front]. I am not calculating this seat.
It seems the contest in
the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat, where the Congress’s Gaurav
Gogoi is a candidate, has become a prestige battle.
It is not that. Jorhat is a stronghold of the BJP and right from 2014, the Jorhat seat is with us. Even at the height of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) agitation, the people re-elected Topon Gogoi. So, it is our stronghold and irrespective of any Congress candidate, I think the BJP will win with a handsome margin.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, while campaigning for Rakibul Hussain in Dhubri, said there is “maa raj” in Assam and claimed that the BJP’s “washing machine” was used to clean the charges against you.
Why discuss Priyanka Gandhi? Who is she?
She is a star campaigner of the Congress party.
But I don’t consider her. She has not even contested a municipal election till today. So why should we discuss about her? Because she is the daughter of a great family? We shouldn’t discuss too much about her.
Let her rst establish her political credentials and then we can speak. We can discuss Rahul Gandhi as he is an MP at least.
The Congress has just announced Rahul Gandhi as a candidate from Rae Bareli. Will you be campaigning against him?
That depends on my party. If they ask me to go, I will go.
Many say that the BJP, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has raised issues like wealth redistribution and Muslim quota to bring out the party’s core voters after low turnout in the initial phases of voting.
I think there was no low turnout. You have to go by the press release of the Election Commission in the rst phase and there was a gure of 1% over the previous election. As far as Assam is concerned, there was a higher percentage than [in the] last election.
So, we have a certain philosophy and basic principles. In election time, we argue those principles and we are always against appeasement politics. Whether there was low turnout or high turnout, we are destined to speak certain things and we will go on speaking them.
One of these things is the Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The Prime Minister has said that he
will implement the UCC in his third term. But our tribal communities are opposed to the UCC?
If you see the model Bill of the UCC in Uttarakhand, then that Bill has exempted the tribal communities from the UCC. So that debate has come to a rest.
How is it uniform then?
Tribal communities have certain historical customs and traditions, and we need to protect them. These are not because of scriptures but a traditional way of living. It cannot be compared with certain religious rituals that are not fundamental to that religion.
The BJP had given a call for “400 paar” but the Opposition has made that a campaign against you. The Congress says that such a tally will be used to change the Constitution and end reservation for SCs and STs.
Mr. Modi has been Prime Minister for the past 10 years. He has abolished Article 370 [of the Constitution]. He has done many landmark things but he has never touched reservation, rather, strengthened it. It is the Congress party that weakened the reservation system in the country. In the guise of OBC [Other Backward Classes], they have brought in the Muslims. They are giving 4% Muslim reservation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. At the cost of the OBC people. They declared Muslims as OBC and created a duplicate OBC. The question is, why have they diluted reservation in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh?
You are not only very sharp in your language during campaigning but you literally dance at your public rallies. Do you think you connect with voters better?
I don’t dance at every rally. There is a very nice song that the Assam BJP is promoting, akou ebaar Modi sarkar [Modi government once again]. People want to dance and without it, my rally will not be completed.
So, will there be akou ebaar Modi sarkar?
I think we are on our way to reaching that target and our numbers will be around 400 seats.
(Full interview on: bit.ly/cmhimanta)