"Disgruntled elements have realised where they stand and where I stand"

AMIT SHARMA spoke to Kalyan Singh in Lucknow about problems within the party and that of running a coalition government. Excerpts:

— There was a rift in the state BJP unit and your style of functioning was questioned within the party and outside. How do things stand now?

A few disgruntled elements had tried to make amountain out of a molehill. The differences were not a mass reaction but the personal opinion of these elements. There had never been differences within the party and the central leadership has reposed confidence in me at the Gandhinagar conclave. Now these disgruntled elements too have realised where they stand and where I stand. There is total coordination between the Government and the party organisation.

— But the fissures are still visible. In the recent controversy involving Raja Bhaiya, nearly a dozen ministers from the allies threatened to resign.

I have not received any letter from any minister regarding resignation. All of us including the allies are working with team spirit.

— Is it just a coincidence that all the ministers who came to the rescue of Raja Bhaiya are Thakurs (State party chief Rajnath Singh who was said to be the key player in the Oust Kalyan Campign’ is also a Thakur)?

On this, I have no comments. But this is a heavy comment.

— Don’t you think that with pressure fromyour allies becoming routine, running the government has become an onerous task?

I am the head of a coalition which has been formed with four groups and each coming from a different culture. So difference of opinion can crop up at times but I am hopeful that my government will complete its tenure.

In every Cabinet meeting we go for open discussions and I even give a chance to my allies to have a say in the decision-making process. This is why our Cabinet meetings go on for five to six hours. During my predecessors’ tenure Cabinet meetings used to be wrapped up in 30 minutes.

— How do you differentiate between your government and those of your predecessors’ with the frequency of transfer of officials and the crime graph being the same?

Previous governments were marked by scandals while during my tenure there has been none. When I took command of the state in September, development was at a standstill, the law and order situation was in chaos and there was uncertainty in the bureaucracy. My governancehas led to a qualitative improvement with efficient and capable officers being placed in important posts. The list of transfers released by my government may look long but the quantum of transfers is a mere 30 per cent of the total transfers effected during the tenures of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati.

— Uttar Pradesh has earned a bad name for poor infrastructure, a hostile atmosphere for industries and pot-holed highways. Have you done anything about them?

A new comprehensive industrial policy is in the offing and efforts are being made to rope in investment from the private sector. A new road policy has been formulated and will be tabled before the Cabinet soon.

— When you talk of development and a war against corruption to clean the system, do you plan to take action against Urban Development Minister Lalji Tandon, who has been indicted in the CAG report on misuse of funds in the construction of the Ambedkar Park?

I have sent the CAG report for explanation to the Urban Development Departmentwhich is the nodal department and the same will be sent to the CAG. What action the CAG takes on the issue remains to be seen but no inquiry is being ordered by my government out of vendetta. If anyone is found guilty in the inquiry he is bound to face action. The fight against corruption will continue and it has been appreciated by all quarters.

— Construction of a Ram temple at Ayodhya has been an electoral plank for your party for long. Now with a BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state, the BJP seems to have put it on the back burner.

The BJP has not sidelined the issues of the temple, abolition of Article 370 and a common civil code. But today’s political situation has led to formation of a coalition government in which all allies seek points of agreement and keep out points of disagreement. Our national agenda is part of this exercise and we had to hold back certain promises. We can implement our agenda only after gaining absolute majority and I have asked partymen to work for gaining anabsolute majority. This opportunity of coming to power at the Centre and the state should be used as a springboard to gain absolute majority.

— But what was the need to form a government when you cannot get a free hand to implement the party’s promises?

The BJP had emerged the single largest party and had we not formed a government it would have been the betrayal of the faith of the people. The reason for forming the government in UP was also the same. The BJP is no longer a politically untouchable unit. All major regional forces are with us. This is a sea change.