‘Don’t compare assembly, LS polls’
Rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar is one of the senior politicians of the BJP in Madhya Pradesh. He tells
that people have realised the Congress’ politics is full of lies Edited excerpts:
Saubhadra Chatterji
Last time you won from Gwalior, now you’re back to Morena. Both Morena and Gwalior are home to me. I belong to Morena and I stay in Gwalior and I won from both seats. When it comes to deciding the candidate, election committee decides on several factors and picks the right constituency for each candidate. So, I am only following my party’s instructions.
In the last assembly polls, the Congress fared very well in Morena-bhind-gwalior region. It might be a tough fight for you. There is no reason to compare between assembly and Lok Sabha elections. There’s a different leadership, different issues and candidates. The vote of one particular community, which normally goes to the BSP, shifted to the Congress and it hurt the BJP. But now, people know they have to vote for Narendra Modi in national interest. There is already a wave of anti-incumbency against the Congress government in MP as they have not given farm loan waivers as promised by Rahul Gandhi. The law and order situation has deteriorated. State government has not shown any urgency to buy wheat from farmers and electricity is no more available round the clock.
But Congress has offered ~72,000 annually as minimum income to the poorest households as against NDA’S minimum income scheme of ~6,000 each year for farmers.
People know the real face of the Congress. They promised farm loan waiver within 10 days of coming to power but failed to provide relief. So, people know Rahul Gandhi’s politics is based on lies. We have promised ~6,000 for farmers and we have also given that money to 3 crore people. And according to their own calculations, people who earn less than ~12,000 annually would be the recipients of NYAY. So, it means someone who is earning less than ~12,000. It would be impossible to find a person who earns less than that amount...they are trying to fool the people.
In Morena, Rajputs and Brahmins voted en masse for the Congress last time.
There is no reason to believe that development has no electoral impact. In these areas, we have worked hard and delivered schemes like housing for poor and Ujjwala gas connection. We have given schemes to improve individual lives and also built big infrastructure for development. Yes, in some areas, the caste factor is important but development and national interest never gets blown away in the face of strong winds of casteism. I am confident people will overcome caste factors to make Modi PM once again.
If you bank so much on the development agenda, why field a terror accused, Pragya Thakur, in Bhopal?
She is an Indian citizen and fulfils the criteria to contest polls. In one of the cases, she has been acquitted. The other case is sub-judice. During their tenure, the Congress tried to appease a particular community and tried its best to prove that Hindus, too, can be terrorists. They maligned Indian Hindus.
Do you think nationalism can be a catchy plank?
I think people in rural India know nationalism more than people who think of themselves as intellectuals. This time, when the election will happen, people will see kiski samajh kitni zyada hai {whose understanding is greater}.
The results will also show how much people value nationalism and this nation.