Jyotiraditya Scindia, Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha and MP from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, spoke to The Sunday Guardian on the Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections in 2018, among various other issues. Excerpts:
Q: There is a lot of confusion among Congress workers in Madhya Pradesh over who will be the next state Congress president. Don’t you think the delay in deciding on a name for the state Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president by the party high command has blunted the Congress’ protest against the ruling BJP government over the Mandsaur firing incident?
A: I am kind of surprised that you have asked this question, because the Congress worked as a united unit and we put up a very strong vociferous opposition to this dastardly act over a period of eight days against the state government. Rahul Gandhiji himself going to Mandsaur. The state PCC chief and the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader all went to Mandsaur, where we were arrested. This was followed by our satyagraha, our rally and then my return to Mandsaur to visit the families of those who lost their near and dear ones, and we carried this on for almost 10-12 days. We have been extremely effective in raising our farmer voices against this state government, which is just unfeeling and stone hearted. We intend to continue this programme until we reach the logical conclusion, which is lodging of criminal proceedings against those who ordered the firing and relief to the farmers.
Q: You are also seen as one of the strongest contenders for the post of PCC chief of Madhya Pradesh, along with Kamal Nath. If given the opportunity, are you willing to move to MP, or are you more content with the role you are playing at the Centre?
A: Well, I have made this very clear across multiple fora that I am a loyal soldier of the party and whatever decision the party takes, I am more than willing to play my role and do my duty. I have always worked tirelessly for the development and progress of Madhya Pradesh for the past 15 years as an MP and as a minister in the Union, and for me, my state is my first priority. To be able to push forward the programmes, ideals and moral and vision of the Congress party in my state is something I have always done and will continue to do.
Q: Your critics, within the party and outside, say that since you are from a royal family, the common man is not able to connect with you. Do you agree with this assessment? Have you tried to change this perception?
A: I would like you to come with me (when I am moving around in the state) and I think things will then be very apparent for you. I don’t think it’s correct or fair for me to make an assessment of myself. It is for the people, such as yourself, to make a realistic assessment, based on what you see on the ground. My friends in the BJP will always try and raise such issues; that is their job and I don’t want to decry them for that. At the end of the day, it is my job to serve my people. My heritage is my heritage. I am extremely proud of the family that I belong to. My father tirelessly toiled and served not only the Congress party, but also the nation and I intend to follow his ideals, values and principles. I have always tried to do to the best of my ability. Finally, what is past is past and that is something I am very proud of. I believe that my hard work, perseverance and my track record must speak for me and not my past.
Q: Infighting in the Madhya Pradesh Congress is perhaps the worst kept political secret in the state. How do you plan to tackle this infighting if you are given the position of state PCC chief, especially considering that elections in the state are next year?
A: I wish you had come to my satyagraha in Bhopal, because every single leader, worker, party cadre from every single region of the state was there.
Q: Congress workers in MP feel that a failure in the 2018 Assembly elections will give a body blow to the party in the state, similar to what has happened to the Congress in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh as the party will then be out of power until 2023. Do you agree?
A: I totally agree with you, it’s a make or break election, it’s a do-or-die election. There are no two ways about it.
“Over the past 10 days, 17 farmers have committed suicide in the state. In the last one year, 1,932 farmers have committed suicide in the state. In the last 13 years of BJP government, 2,100 farmers have committed suicide.”
Q: In the last elections, the Congress had said that the Vyapam scam would defeat the BJP, but the BJP won comfortably. What are the main issues the Congress will be raising in its fight against Shivraj Singh Chouhan in next year’s elections?
A: It is not only the issue of Vyapam. There is no governance in the state, there is rampant corruption in the state. A fiction is being woven in Delhi and the country about Madhya Pradesh, which is very different from reality. You can see the reality from the malnutrition deaths, you can see that from the deaths due to police firing, you can see that from the suicide by farmers and from the corruption and rampant illegal sand mining. Even the Ujjain Simhasth was not spared of corruption. There is corruption in mid-day meals, corruption has been totally decentralised in MP. There is no health and education system. It is a state that is waiting very eagerly for change—a change that is wanted by the youths and the women, who are no longer safe on the streets of the state, which has become the rape capital of the country. Teachers are not being regularised, every segment of the population is extremely dissatisfied and angry and on the verge of taking their lives. Over the past 10 days, 17 farmers have committed suicide in the state. In the last one year, 1,932 farmers have committed suicide in the state. In the last 13 years of BJP government, 2,100 farmers have committed suicide. You have a CM who calls himself a kisan ka beta and the same kisan ka beta says that “rin maafi koi mudda nahee hai MP mai (loan waiver is not an issue in MP)”, in a state where farmers are killing themselves every day due to loans.
“The state PCC chief and the Congress Legislature Party leader all went to Mandsaur, where we were arrested. This was followed by our satyagraha and my return to Mandsaur to visit the families of those who lost their near and dear ones.”
Q: Despite all these allegations, the BJP has been winning in the state since 2003. What do you attribute this to? CM Chouhan’s popularity, Congress infighting or both or any other issue that the media has missed?
A: I think it is something that we need to introspect on. The BJP is excellent in marketing, but the reality is very different. I think the people of Madhya Pradesh are sick and tired of the BJP, but I think that is not good enough for us. We need to put together our own plan, we need to be able to tell the people not just what is wrong with the BJP government, but also what it is that will be right with us. I think it is this combination and story that needs to be weaved. You need to change the narrative, which should not just be a negative narrative about your opposition, but also a positive narrative about how you will transform things for the better if given the opportunity. I think this combination is very important.
Q: You are seen as close to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. Has the topic of Congress’ dismal performance in the state for so many years now—despite having experienced leaders such as Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Suresh Pachauri, Ajay ‘Rahul’ Singh, Arun Yadav and you—come up between you and him in recent times? What is Rahul’s take on this issue?
A: I think the Congress president and vice president are looking at every election going state with a great degree of seriousness and I am sure that the same will be applied to MP as well. We don’t have a long time to go; we have less than 15 months now and I think a strategy for MP will be crafted in the near future.