'Congress Hatao' will be our slogan, Rahul acts like a 'Dabangg', says Syed Shahnawaz Hussain

New Delhi, Jun 2: Syed Shahnawaz Hussain is a prominent Muslim face of BJP. He has been a spokesman of the party for a long time and was a Union minister in Vajpayee government. Hussain believes that people of India will not accept Rahul Gandhi because he pulls up his sleeves, tears off rival parties' manifestoes, and acts like a Bollywood ‘Dabangg' at his rallies. He lacks a decent face, Hussain adds. Hussain said, Congress Hatao will be his party's slogan at the next Lok Sabha elections, because "BJP does not need power, it's the nation which needs BJP the most for good governance." In an exclusive interview to indiatvnews.com , he shared his views on a number of issues ranging from Modi's candidature for PM to ‘Bharat Nirman' campaign of Congress: Q: Why is BJP hesitant in declaring Narendra Modi as its PM candidate in 2014 elections despite tremendous pressure from BJP cadres? Even pre-poll surveys indicate that you will benefit if Modi is your PM candidate then why are you in two minds? Hussain: It's Congress and not the BJP that is in two minds. We are going to form the government this time and the next PM will be from BJP. Therefore we'll take the decision at the right time. Janardan Dwivedi of Congress has already said that Manmohan Singh will continue till 2014 only and that nothing can be said about post 2014 general election scenario. This is because it's BJP that will form the next government. BJP is a democratic party. The parliamentary board of the party that includes stalwarts like Atal Behari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi will decide who will be the PM candidate for 2014 elections. The parliamentary board will make the announcement at the right time. Q: But when will this right time arrive? Your cadre is getting restless and elections are just a year away. Hussain: We'll cross the bridge when we come to it. The party and the parliamentary board will take the decision at the right time. The decision can't be taken by any other party or any survey agency.Q: What is your personal opinion about Narendra Modi's candidature for PM post? Hussain: See, personal opinion does not matter. I am the spokesman of the party and my views will be seen as the party's view. I'll let you know once the party takes the decision. I can assure you that India TV will be the first to know about the decision. Q: It is said that there is a coterie in BJP that lacks mass support but is very powerful at the national level and that they are always afraid of leaders having mass support. You have examples of how Kalyan Singh was removed in UP and the way Yeddyurappa was forced to resign in Karnataka. It is said that the same lobby is not in favour of projecting Modi as PM candidate. Hussain: See, there is no coterie in BJP. All other parties except Communists are one person parties where there is no internal democracy. You have parties of a Behen ji (Mayawati) and a Neta ji (Mulayam). Then you have personal parties of Sonia Gandhi, Lalu Prasad, Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. Unlike these parties, there is internal democracy in BJP. The party takes unanimous decisions despite different leaders having different viewpoints. Q: You are talking about internal democracy but the way you removed Yeddyurappa in Karnataka tells a different story. The state unit of party was fully behind Yeddyurappa, still you forced him to resign.Hussain: See, we have never compromised with our principles and corruption. You know ,Atal ji waited for a long time to become PM. He would have become PM much earlier, had we compromised with principles. But we decided against compromising. Q: Advani ji continues to be in the news for his Prime Ministerial ambitions. Is he once again in the PM's race for 2014 elections? Hussain: Every Indian national is eligible for the post of PM. Even you could be the PM. Whoever is acceptable to the people of India, will be the Prime Minister. It's not proper to stop any body from aspiring for any position. Advani ji is part of the decision making body and the final decision will be unanimous. So far as the PM race is concerned, the entire population of 125 crore is in the race. Q: Is Narendra Modi going to contest elections from UP this time? Hussain: I am part of the central election committee that selects LS candidates across the country. And I can tell you that the process of selection of candidates is yet to start, so nothing has been decided. Narendra Modi is a big leader of the party and the party will take a call on his candidature as well as his constituency. Q: What is the strategy behind handing over a crucial state like UP to Amit Shah who has no considerable experience outside Gujarat? Hussain: Amit Shah is a good organizer and is a very old member of BJP. He is a general secretary now and that's why he has been made in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. The UP unit wanted to fully utilize the talent of Amit Shah and that's why he has been given this responsibility. Q: What talent you are talking about? He is accused of creating communal polarization in Gujarat. Is he going to repeat the same thing in UP? It is said that he has been made in-charge of UP because of his proximity with Narendra Modi who is planning to contest elections from UP. Hussain: Amit Shah is in UP only for party's work and nothing else. And it will be totally unfair to say that only those belonging to Gujarat are close to Narendra Modi and those who are from outside Gujarat are not close to Modi ji. In fact, everybody is close to Narendra Bhai. Q: Will Varun Gandhi be the party's CM candidate in next assembly elections and is he going to change his LS seat in upcoming general elections? Hussain: Nothing has been decided on who would be the CM candidate and so far as his LS seat is concerned, party's central committee will take the final decision. Q: Coming to Bihar, do you think BJP and JD(U) will contest elections together given the fact that the relationship has turned sour in recent times. Hussain: Everything is possible in politics and this is the statement of JD(U)'s state President and I completely agree with them. JD(U) had joined hands with us when we were seen as untouchables in the aftermath of Ayodhya movement. Our association with JD(U) is 17 years old. JD(U) is the most trusted ally after Shiv Sena and this relation will not break off because BJP is committed to the 10 Crore people of Bihar who had voted us for working together. If we part ways then people will of Bihar will feel cheated. Therfore, in the interest of Bihar's development, BJP is fully standing with JD(U). We are separate parties with separate ideology but on the question of Bihar's interest, we are one and will remain one. Q: But Nitish Kumar is very clear that he will not continue the alliance if Modi is made the PM. Hussain: We are yet to declare Modi's candidature. So nothing can be said, as of now. But please note that BJP is a strong party in Bihar and its strength should not be underestimated. We have formed this alliance in the best interest of Bihar and we'll try our best to save the coalition. Q. But in Bihar, you have almost surrendered. Hussain: BJP is not the name of a party that will surrender. We don't believe in surrender. Q: Some leaders in Bihar have tried to highlight the OBC background of Modi. Do you think Narendra Modi's OBC background will benefit you in coming elections? Hussain: We don't believe in politics of caste. And the people of Bihar have rejected those who played caste politics. Q: If Congress projects Rahul Gandhi as its PM candidate, what impact it will have on BJP's chances? Hussain: The impact will be same as it was in Bihar and UP. Even in UP, he used to pull up his sleeves every now and then in filmy style, more like a 'Dabbang' and 'Singham' but he was thoroughly rejected. People want a decent face like Atal Behari Vajpayee. Q: Do you mean Rahul doesn't have a decent face? Hussain: Absolutely not, his body language suggests he has got attitude of a ‘Dabangg'. The way he tore off manifestoes in UP, he can't be termed as decent. Q: Rahul Gandhi recently said that he is neither interested in marriage nor in PM post. How would you react to that? Hussain: I don't know why he is afraid of marriage. Even Nehru ji got married, Indira Ji got married, Rajiv ji got married and I am a married person myself. If Rahul Gandhi wants to emulate Atal Behari Vajpayee, then it's a very good thing. Q: Coming to Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, Congress is demanding Raman Singh's resignation on moral ground. How would you react to that? Hussain: On moral grounds, how many Congress Chief Ministers have resigned? When 74 personnel were killed under their regime, why did they not resign? In Jharkhand, so many people were killed under President's rule. So far as fighting Naxalites is concerned, it's not moral responsibility, it's common responsibility. Is the Chhattisgarh govt fighting Naxalites alone? Is the PM and Home Ministers not fighting them? So will they take responsibilities? Wiil the Congress take responsibility for creating Naxal problem? Top leaders of Congress say we'll fight Naxals together but lower level leaders make cheap statements. It's time to fight together, not to issue cheap statements. So far as the death of Mahendra Karma and Chhattisgarh Congress president Patel is concerned, they may be just political leaders for Congress but for us, they were true sons of mother India. Q: But you have also been demanding resignation on moral grounds. Hussain: But we do not demand resignations on matters relating to Naxalism. That will only be like playing in the hands of Naxals. Naxals are against both Raman Singh govt and Congress party. They will kill Congress leaders and will ask for Raman Singh's resignation. Tomorrow, in a Congress ruled state like Maharashtra, Naxals may kill people but we'll not demand their resignation. BJP has never played politics on Naxalism and terrorism. Q: It is being alleged that Raman Singh govt paid attention only to ‘Vikas Yatra' of Raman Singh and ignored ‘Parivartan Yatra' of Congress. Hussain: See, a CM always gets special security. It happens everywhere including Bihar. Q. Even Raman Singh has confessed that there was a security lapse. Hussain: See, there was a security lapse for sure. But on whose part? Different questions are being raised. Which Congress leader got the route of Congress yatra changed? How is it that some Congress leaders survived while some others were killed? But BJP is not raising all this. We are saying that its a very sad incident and it should be thoroughly probed. Q: Do you have any concrete plan to tackle Naxalism if you form the government at the Centre? Hussain: I can assure your viewers that we will have zero tolerance for both Naxalism and terrorism, if BJP forms government at the Centre. We will annihilate them. We will first give them the chance to join the mainstream but if they refuse, we'll take stern action. Q: But what did you do when you were in power for 6 long years? Hussain: It was because of our efforts that Naxalism was contained. Had there been no Vajpayee government, you would have seen Naxalites sitting here in Delhi. Q: How many seats do you expect in coming general elections? Hussain: We'll get clear majority for sure. Q: Which new parties are likely to join the NDA? Hussain: We are talking to many parties but we can't reveal names. And they have strictly asked us not to share their names with India TV (Laughs). Q: How do you look at ‘Bharat Nirman' campaign of UPA? It is being said that they are copying your ‘India Shining' campaign. Hussain: First of all, I have strong reservation on one of the ‘Bharat Nirman' ads that shows Muslims of India in poor light. This ad shows a Muslim who looks malnourished and backward with a talisman hanging from his neck but today's Muslims are in a better off condition. Even India TV has got many Muslim employees including anchors. Congress should stop this injustice that they are doing to Muslims of India. Why don't they show those Muslims who are IAS and IPS officers? They show Congress leaders who are healthy but the Muslims in their ads look so poor.So far ‘India Shining' is concerned, that was based on reality. I can say that because I was a minister in that government. Q: How can you say that? And you lost elections despite ‘India Shining' campaign. Hussain: We lost not because of ‘India Shining' campaign; there were other reasons for defeat. And let me tell you one thing, India was definitely shining at that time. At that time many people came above poverty line. Magnificent roads were built. New airports and ports were built. The treasury was full of gold, silver and diamond. But what is happening now? The economy is doing so badly despite having an economist as PM.Q: What will be your slogan to counter Congress campaign in coming elections? Hussain: Our slogan will be – Get rid of Congress (Congress Hatao). It is going to be a battle for dethroning Congress. Q: Do you have any blueprint for good governance? Hussain: BJP means good governance. You can see it in BJP ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Gujarat. Today it's not the BJP that needs power. In fact, it's the nation that needs the BJP the most for good governance.