Rahul Gandhi needs to reverse the perception that he is 'incompetent', says Chirag Paswan

New Delhi: Chirag Paswan is one of the youngest members of the newly elected Lok Sabha. He tried his luck in Bollywood but quickly realized that he is actually made for the tough terrain of politics. The son of Ram Vilas Paswan, veteran Bihar politician and national president of Lok Janashakti Party (LJP), Chirag is a big fan of Narendra Modi and was the guiding force behind the LJP-BJP alliance. He has been elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time from Jamui Lok Sabha constituency in Bihar, considered to be Maoist-infested region.In an exclusive interview to indiatvnews.com, Chirag Paswan opened up on a range of issues and spoke at length on his admiration for Modi, his relationship with Gandhi family, dynastic politics in LJP, criminalisation of politics, ways and means of Naxalism and many other issues.Interestingly, Chirag Paswan is of the opinion that Rahul Gandhi is definitely a reluctant politician as was evident from his approach in just concluded parliamentary elections and there is a projection of him being incompetent as well that he needs to change if he is not.Here goes the full text of the interview: Q: You started off your career as an actor but you moved over to politics. Can you explain the reasons behind this change?Chirag: Those who know me closely are aware of the fact that I was never away from politics? I used to campaign in elections along with my father. Anyways, politics flows in my veins and therefore I can't maintain a distance from politics even if I want to do that. Of course, there was a short term affair with movies. You can call it childhood dream or wish. I wanted to see myself on screen, at least once. But yes, it was clear from the beginning that I had to enter politics. Even if you look at my bollywood interviews then you would find that I had said it consistently that eventually, it's going to be politics. I'm happy that today I'm in my comfort zone. I'm at a place where I wanted to be. Q: You said it was a short-term affair. Do you mean that chapter is completely closed?Chirag: As of now, yes. Right now, politics is the only priority for me. I have travelled a lot with my father as a campaigner but for the first time I realized how serious you role becomes when you are a candidate in elections. This time I contested from Jamui and I realized how lakhs of people look at you with hope. They look at you for realizing their dreams. It's a big responsibility and therefore it can't be taken lightly. Politics can't be a part-time job. Therefore, my priority is politics only. Q: Let's come to the question of dynastic politics. This is not only about you but all those who come from a political family. Do you think it's a good omen for democracy?Chirag: It's not about omen. Irrespective of all these allegations of dynasty and tags being attached to you, you can't do anything as per your wish. Today if my father wants to get me established in this field then the reality is that it can't be done unless I have the talent or I succeed in convincing the electorate that they can trust me. You can be fortunate if your father is a big personality but that is not your talent. You have to work hard for that. If having a renowned father could help then my first film should have been a superhit. Q: But your father is not a film star. His forte is politics.Chirag: Even in bollywood, there are many stars whose sons and daughters could not succeed. In politics, there have been many politicians including prime ministers and presidents whose children could not achieve anything.Q: This question becomes important because your father fought against Congress for its dynastic politics. Now people say that he himself is encouraging dynastic politics in his party.Chirag: See, I also have issues with dynastic politics if you establish yourself by snatching right of somebody else. I don't think I should be subjected to charges of dynastic politics because I joined party when it was passing through the worst phase. My father was not in Lok Sabha at that time.It was a time when people used to say that the time for the party was over as it was left with no support base. I took the responsibility of the party under those circumstances. Q: You were made the chairman of LJP parliamentary board at such a young age. Had it been possible if you were not connected to that family?Chirag: Whether I would have been made or not made…this question becomes secondary. The primary question would have been whether I would be accepted or not. If all members of parliamentary board accepted me then it's because they would have felt that I had the capability of leading the party. And I think I have proved myself in recent months. I have taken the party to a a level that it's a number two party in Bihar while it has got strength in UP. Today LJP is one of the top 10 parties in india.Q: It is said that you were the guiding force behind LJP-BJP alliance. How did you convince Ram Vilas Paswan for joining hands with BJP because he was completely against BJP after what happened in Gujarat in 2002.Chirag: Personally, I had a belief that we should join hands with BJP and become part of NDA. I used to listen to the speeches of Narendra Modi and was very impressed with him. As a son, I used to tell all this to my father. After I became the chairman of LJP parliamentary board, I started saying all this with a little more authority. And I am happy to say that all our senior leaders, supporters and cadres agreed with me and they all unanimously suggested that we should go with NDA. And I am happy that our national president took a decision in the interest of that party and nation setting aside his personal sentiments.Q: As we say, Atal-Advani era is over in BJP. Similarly, can we say that Ram Vilas Paswan era is over in LJP and Chirag Paswan era has begun?Chirag: Absolutely not. This alliance would not have happened had he not wanted so. I am happy that he is an open minded person and there is democracy in my party. Everybody's suggestion is taken into account. But ultimately, it was his decision. In every decision, his word is final.Q: You said that you are very impressed with Narendra Modi. How do you look at the charges leveled against him especially charges relating to 2002 Gujarat riots? Do you think he had no role in those riots?Chirag: See, my opinion does not matter much when Supreme Court has given him clean chit. Questioning SC decision will be wrong as far as our justice system is concerned. Q: Coming to you Lok Sabha constituency Jamui, it's one of the naxal affected areas in Bihar. Do you have any vision for tackling naxalism in that area?Chirag: I believe that all issues can be resolved through dialogue. Rebellion takes place when your words were not heard and ignored. Therefore establishing an honest dialogue with Naxals is very important. All the suggestion that fall within purview of constitution should be implemented. My priority will be to first establish an honest dialogue with them.Q: BJP has always been in favour of strong action against Naxals. Do you agree with that?Chirag: I will talk about my constituency. I would first like to establish an honest dialogue with them. Every party's ideology is different. Our party's ideology, constitution and manifesto are different. We have an issue-based alliance. It's not necessary to agree on every issue. As far as Naxalism is concerned, my priority is to start a dialogue first.Q: As an MP, what will be your priorities for Jamui Lok Sabha constituency?Chirag: As I said, I have a ‘list of work' ready with me. How to prioritize that will be decided by the people of the constituency. Jamui is one of the backward districts of Bihar. Development is needed on every level. We'll have to start with fundamental needs- education, health, employment, dignity and security of women etc. We have to work at every level.Q: Coming to politics of Bihar, how do you look at the changes that have taken place recently. Nitish Kumar has resigned; Jitan ram manjhi has taken over as the new CM.Chirag: For Bihar, there can be no bigger tragedy than this. When the flood water comes, snakes and scorpions, they all sit on the same branch of a tree. Congress, RJD and JD(U) are all sitting on the same branch. In the next assembly elections, the first casualty will be this branch. The Lok Sabha results clearly show that the people have rejected these parties. As far as JD(U) is concerned, they could barely open their account in these elections. They got the second seat by cheating. In Nalanda Lok Sabha constituency, our candidate had won but they got that seat by cheating. We are going to take leagal action on that. The reality is that even they realize that their support base is no longer with them. That's why they are looking at running the state government somehow. They think that will be wiped out if elections are held right now. But the reality is that whenever elections take place, NDA will form the govt in Bihar, the way we have formed the govt at centre.Q: Nitish Kumar has recently termed Ram Vilas Paswan as a ‘palatimar leader' (a leader who always takes U-turn). How would you react to that?Chirag: Just a few weeks before we joined hands with BJP, it was the same Nitish Kumar who used to say that he had very good relationship with Ram Vilas Paswan and that he wanted to make him the Chief Minister in 2005. At that time he was trying to win over our national president for joining hands in Lok Sabha elections. We would have been good had we joined hands with him. Since we did not join hands with him, no other party can be as bad as our party and no other leader can be as bad as our national president Ramvilas Paswan. It's just his frustration coming out since his and his party's political decline has begun. Q: In 2005, Ram Vilas Paswan had insisted on a Muslim Chief Minister in Bihar when he himself was being offered the CM post. As a young leader with a new vision, do you think it was wrong on his part to insist on this? Was this demand not communal?Chirag: No, it was not wrong at all. At that time, there was a deadlock. We had moved out of an alliance and had fought against one party. The question was who to go with? It was a very difficult situation. As you know, a formula is drafted everywhere. For example, even in NDA, formulas are drafted to form council of ministers. So at that time, we also came up with a formula that we'll go with anybody who supports our demand for a Muslim Chief Minister.As for communalism, who is talking about communal and secular these days? If we talk about encouraging a section, we become communal. But when others form equations like M-Y, it becomes secular. There are others who change Dalits into Mahadalits, backwards into extremely backwards then that is not caste politics. Nitish has tried to play Dalit card by making Manjhi CM in Bihar. When they do it, it's secular thought. When we do it, it becomes communal thought. Those who talk the most about Muslims today rejected the proposal.As for Nitish, BJP was secular for 17 years, now that his own personal interests have taken precedence; BJP has once again become communal. As far as Lalu is concerned, why did he form his first govt with BJP support if BJP was so communal?Q: Coming to criminalization of politics, there is a perception that LJP has inducted many people against whom serious cases are pending. What are you doing to change this perception?Chirag: I am not aware of what perception has been formed of my party. But yes, I will try to make sure that more and more leaders with clean image join LJP. One reason why I decided against going with the previous alliance was that I did not want to join hands with a party whose national president was convicted by a court. That combination was not getting fitted into my campaign against corruption. As far as my party is concerned, there is not a single person, who has either won or had contested on our party symbol, against whom even a single case is going on today. I am not aware of a person's history but I can say that from the day they have joined LJP, there is not a single case filed against them.Q: But you need to know history. How can you say that history is not important? Perception is very important among people.Chirag: See, you will not move forward if you'll keep talking about history only. That was the problem that I faced while going with this people alliance. People kept talking about Godhra and 2002. But for how long? You talk about youth vision then this is my vision. I don't want to become a prisoner of history. My priority is future. I want to project people who, I think, will do something for my party and nation. If you'll go into history then you'll get to see Godhra, Bhagalpur riots, Sikh riots and emergency. Which party is completely untouched by these things?Q: You said that you did not go with RJD alliance because you did not want to join hands with Lalu Prasad who was convicted by a court of law. But you had also made a statement that you decided to walk out of the alliance because Sonia and Rahul Gandhi did not give to time to meet them. What was the reality?Chirag: It was a compilation of many reasons. It was a fact that I was not comfortable in starting my career with an alliance with Lalu ji. There was definitely another reason as well- we were trying to meet Rahul Gandhi but could not succeed. We met Sonia ji twice and she told me- you should sit with Rahul and sort out the matter. I told her that I have been trying to meet Rahul for past three months but not able to get through. Then she said that she will speak to Rahul and will make him meet you in a couple of days but that day never came. We were in touch with C P Joshi, who was in-charge of Bihar at that time, so that the meeting could be fixed but there was a deadlock as no decision was being taken.There were many reasons like Lalu Ji, Rahul ji, Sonia ji and of course, Modi ji with whom I personally wanted to go with. So the final decision was because of all these reasons.Q: You are one of the few people who know Rahul Gandhi personally. What is your perception of Rahul Gandhi? People say he is a reluctant politician.Chirag: We have been neighbours for almost 25 years now. I know him personally as well. He had come personally to watch my film when it was released. I was impressed with him when he had joined politics. He had come up with a new thinking and was taking strong decisions. But somewhere in the process, he lost the plot. I was impressed when I saw him tearing apart the ordinance draft. But he joined hands with the same person, Lalu ji ,who became the first victim of abandoning of that ordinance. He took a decision on Adarsh scam and then gave ticket once again to Ashok Chavan. I didn't like that .. It appeared to me that he lacks the guts to stick to his decision.His weakness became apparent there onwards.As for ‘reluctanct politician', if you are not giving time to meet one of your important alliance partners then it reflects your reluctance. The way Milind Deora, Priya Dutt and Praful Patel made statements recently, it gives me a feeling that we were not the only ones who had complaints in this regard. In fact, this feeling was there among other party members and allies as well. Q: So what you are saying is that apart from being a reluctant politician, he is ‘non-serious' as well and you agree with charges of incompetence that is being leveled against him by his own party men. Chirag: I don't agree but this is how it is being projected from his end. May be, he is not incompetent but he needs to correct that projection. If you are not then you have to look aggressive and active that was completely lacking in him. Q: But you agree that he is a reluctant politician.Chirag: Definitely. Had he not been reluctant, I would have seen him in a more active role.Q: Narendra Modi has got a massive mandate in these elections. Do you think he will be able to fulfill his promises?Chirag: Definitely. I have been saying it frequently from political forums . It's only our alliance that has come up with an ideology of development. We have come up with strategies. All our opponents talked about only two things – 1. Stop Modi 2. Stop communal forces. They had no developmental issues and they had no strategy either. They have been exposed in last 10 years. They knew they had no face saving issue therefore they focused on stop Modi and stop communal forces. I am fully confident that Modi will make his vision a reality. And I would like to recall what our national president said in the central hall, we have got a crown of thorns and not flowers and that our priority should be to come true to the promises we have made to the people as well as their expectations from us.

Rahul Gandhi needs to reverse the perception that he is 'incompetent', says Chirag Paswan

New Delhi: Chirag Paswan is one of the youngest members of the newly elected Lok Sabha. He tried his luck in Bollywood but quickly realized that he is actually made for the tough terrain of

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