Sonia Gandhi should not have written letter to PM on Durga Nagpal issue: Union Minister Tariq Anwar (India TV Exclusive)

New Delhi: Tariq Anwar belonged to the famous ‘Amar- Akbar- Anthony' troika of Congress party that objected to Sonia Gandhi's candidature for PM citing her foreign origin. Along with Sharad Pawar and P A Sangma, Tariq Anwar broke away and formed a separate party - Nationalaist Congress Party.Today, Tariq Anwar is part of UPA govt but still does not hesitate in speaking out his mind whenever he disagrees with Sonia Gandhi. In an exclusive interview to www.indiatvnews.com, Tariq Anwar castigated Sonia Gandhi for writing to PM on Durga Nagpal suspension issue. He said that Sonia Gandhi should not have written any letter to PM on this matter as it was a purely local issue.The union minister also believes that the PM Manmohan Singh should have contested Lok Sabha elections instead of joining Rajya Sabha in the best interest of democracy.Anwar is not perturbed over increasing food prices because he believes that it is helping farmers in one sense because they also need to get good return on their investmnent.Tariq anwar summarily rejected Narendra Modi's candidature for PM saying he is not even a good CM because 2002 riots took place under his tenure.Here goes full text of the interview:Q: Is the UPA govt confident of passage of Food Security Bill in current session of parliament? Your own allies like DMK have expressed some reservation on the draft of the bill.Tariq Anwar: The govt is trying to build a consensus on the bill. So far as the main opposition party BJP is concerned, they have assured the govt of their support for the bill. They will press for some amendments but they have also said that the bill is important and therefore they also want the bill to be passed through consensus. Similarly, parties like SP and DMK also have some reservations and the govt is trying to evolve a consensus on this bill.Q: The opposition says you are in a hurry to get the bill passed because you want to take political mileage in upcoming elections. Tariq Anwar: This is on UPA agenda for quite a long time. It was the part of UPA manifesto in 2009 elections. This is being debated for a few years now. In last session of parliament, this bill was to be introduced but since the opposition did not allow the parliament to function, it could not be done.So far as political mileage is concerned, every political party or combination always tries to get political mileage in elections if they introduce such programmes and there is nothing unusual in it. But it will be wrong to say that this bill has been introduced for political benefits only.Q: So you agree that UPA will get political benefit from Food Security Bill in upcoming elections.Tariq Anwar: Definitely. The govt will definitely get political benefit if it works for the weaker and neglected sections of the society. And we have seen it happening in many states ruled by both UPA allies as well as opposition parties. The governments have retained power because they work in the interest of people.Q: Suppose the Food Security Bill is passed in the parliament. How would you ensure its successful implementation given the fact that that the machinery responsible for implementation is not well-oiled? You know it very well that even PDS is not working properly in majority of the states barring a few exceptions. Tariq Anwar: This is a valid question. The main responsibility for implementation lies with the states. It will be our endeavor to ensure that the machinery functions efficiently. For this, we'll try for better coordination with states. We'll also put all possible pressure on states for its successful implementation. Even the states will get credit for its successful implementation. Q: The rate of onion has touched Rs 60 per kg in Delhi. Being the minister of agriculture and food processing, how would you explain it?Tariq Anwar: we were exporting onions on large scale till sometime back. Now what has happened is that the delivery of onions from regions like Nashik and Rajasthan is yet to begin. The middlemen try to take advantage of all this and there is a need to be tough with them. Tackling middlemen is the main responsibility of states. And the price of onion is higher in Delhi only and the case is not the same in other states. Sheila Dikshit, the Delhi CM, has already said that if the middlemen fail to mend their ways then the Delhi govt will open its own stalls the way it did it in the past. Anyways, the moment delivery starts from onion hubs like Nashik, price will go down.Q: Prices of food items have gone up across the country and the people are reeling under high inflation. What is the govt doing?Tariq Anwar: I agree inflation rate has gone up slightly but it's helping farmers in one sense. We should also ensure that they get good return on their investment. They should not suffer loss; else nobody will be interested in agriculture as a profession.Q: In March, you had made a statement in parliament with regard to agriculture's share in GDP. In 2009-10 it was 14.6 %, in 2010-11 it came down to 14.5 %, in 2011-12 it further declined to 14.1 % and in 2012-13, it's expected to go down to 13.7 %. What are you doing to check this decline?Tariq Anwar: You are right and I agree that the govt needs to check it especially after the advent of Food security Bill. In this budget we have taken some measures and it's our endeavor to pay more attention to agriculture sector. Q: Coming to UPA govt's response to the killing of Indian soldiers by Pakistan army, what exactly is the govt planning?Tariq Anwar: See, there are two types of forces at work in Pakistan. One section wants to improvise relations while the other section is completely against it. Pakistan army dominates Pakistan's polity as well. Whenever the political leadership tries to improvise relations, the army does something to derail the process. If you remember, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee went to Lahore as part of peace process, Kargil happened. Pakistan army sent intruders to Kargil without taking Pak PM into confidence. We have to be tough, at the same time we need to put diplomatic pressure.Q: What do you mean by being tough to Pakistan? You are not being tough. Pakistan is just not willing to mend ways.Tariq Anwar: Being tough means that we should send across the message that we are not weak, but we also do not want to create a situation where war becomes inevitable. War is not a solution. We have fought three times with Pakistan but issues were not resolved.Q: Don't you think that your approach of not going to war is being wrongly interpreted by Pakistan?Tariq Anwar: Definitely not. Pakistan is well aware of our capabilities. And they themselves are paying a heavy price for encouraging militancy. Militants are doing something every day in Pakistan.Q: What do you think about the suspension of Durga Nagpal, the IAS officer, in UP by Akhilesh govt?Tariq Anwar: I think it was a decision taken in haste. It is being said that the sand mafia was behind the suspension. The govt needs to give an explanation. This will demoralize bureaucracy and it's not correct.Q: This issue is being given a communal colour as well but the facts including local intelligence input says something else. Tariq Anwar: I agree it's not correct on part of UP govt to justify the suspension by just saying that she razed the wall of a mosque. Q: Do you think the suspension is aimed at polarizing electorate in upcoming elections?Tariq Anwar: There can be no polarization on these issues. No community can be made happy by such actions. If the mosque was being built without authorization, then there was nothing wrong in razing it but if it was authorized then it's a matter of concern. Truth has to be verified first. Different versions have come up. Is it because of sand mafia or it was done to appease Muslims? It is sending out wrong message. Whatever is the case, instead of suspending the officer, her seniors should have been sent there and the matter should have been resolved.Q: Samajwadi party has raised questions over the letter that Sonia Gandhi has written to PM on this issue. They say that Sonia should also write for Ashok Khemka who has suffered because of leveling serious allegations against Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi.Tariq Anwar: I think there was no need for Sonia Gandhi to write any letter to PM on this issue. This was a local issue concerning the state govt. May be because of the fact that Durga Nagpal is a woman, Sonia might have got emotional and that's why she wrote that letter. There was no need to give it so much importance. It is an administrative matter and nothing should be done in haste. Let the matter be fully investigated.Q: What is your stand on Telangana?Tariq Anwar: We are in support of Telangana because we are in favour of smaller states.Q: What about Vidarbha? Your party is in power in Maharashtra.Tariq Anwar: We have said that we are not against it if the people are in favour of Vidarbha. But it has to be first ascertained whether people want it or not. Let their representatives, MPs and MLAs, raise it if people are in favor of Vidarbha. There has been no Telangana type agitation in Vidarbha.Q: Sharad Pawar has said that he'll not fight 2014 general elections. How do you look at the future of NCP in absence of Pawar?Tariq Anwar: He has said that he will not fight elections anymore. He has fought 14 elections so far and has won all of them. He has more than 40 years of experience in electoral politics. Now he wants to be part of Rajya Sabha so that he could work more freely and devout more time for party work. He is not leaving politics.Q: Your have a ‘blow hot, blow cold' kind of relationship with Congress in Maharashtra. How do you look at the future of this relationship? It is also said that you may join hands with Raj Thackeray.Tariq Anwar: There is no question of joining hands with Raj Thackeray or Shiv Sena or BJP. Our outlook is completely different from theirs. Raj Thackeray has a very parochial outlook. They can't look beyond Maharashtra but we have a nationalist ideology and we respect all states and language. So far as Congress is concerned, our fundamental ideology remains same. Even in future, our endeavour will be to keep all secular and democratic forces united in order to keep communal forces at bay. We have to ensure that the secular votes don't get divided. Q: Sharad Pawar recently said that Muslims are feeling alienated in this country for various reasons. He went to the extent of saying that Ishrat Jahan was an innocent girl although even your Home Minister has not given any ‘clean chit' to Isharat Jahan. Don't you think there is a ‘disconnect' over here.Tariq Anwar: Pawar has not given any ‘clean chit'. He has said that whenever anything happens, the administration and Police think it's the handiwork of a Muslim militant. He has raised objections to this mindset. He wants all investigations to be done with an open mind. It has become clear that in incidents like Malegaon blast, Samjhauta express blast, Mecca Masjid blast, Muslim militants were not involved. Those who were involved are behind bars today and are facing cases. Similarly, Supreme Court is monitoring Ishrat Jahan case. From the reports that have come out including CBI report, it's clear that it was a conspiracy and Ishrat Jahan had nothing to do with it. Everybody agrees that it was done on instruction of Narendra Modi just to gain sympathy of people by orchestrating that he was being targeted by Muslim militants.Q: BJP says that NIA report quoted Headley confession in which he had claimed Ishrat to be part of a suicide squad.Tariq Anwar: All this is in front of SC and CBI. Truth will come out.Q: How do you look at Manmohan Singh as PM. Is he a ‘weak' PM as the opposition claims?Tariq Anwar: The way he ran the government for 10 years is commendable. He started with a minority govt, still he managed it. Despite global recession, he managed to save Indian economy. He has done a lot for social and rural sector. And I think it's a big achievement. Q: Do you think that a democratic country like India should have a PM who is not directly elected?Tariq Anwar: I agree it's not correct. I believe he should have fought Lok Sabha elections and he could have won from any where. But it was his personal decision. There is no constitutional bar on this and we had many other PMs who were not directly elected. You have examples of Deve Gowda and Gujral. Even today, Nitish Kumar is CM of Bihar for last 10 years and he is a member of legislative council.Q: But is it a good omen for democracy?Tariq Anwar: No. I believe that at least Prime Minister and Chief Minister should be directly elected.Q: Do you think Manmohan Singh can become PM for third time in a row? Congress had declared his name in 2009 but they have not said anything this time.Tariq Anwar: Why not? The decision has to be taken by Congress as it's the largest party. So far as Manmohan Is concerned, he could very well become PM again.Q: How do you look at Rahul Gandhi as propective PM candidate? He sounds reluctant and he has said that he does not want to be PM.Tariq Anwar: Had he been ‘reluctant', he would not have joined politics and I don't think he will refuse if he gets the opportunity. He has got politics as part of family legacy. He can accept the challenge when the time comes. It's true that he lacks experience presently but he is born in a family where you get all these trainings automatically. Q: BJP has almost declared Narendra Modi as its PM candidate. How do you look as Narendra Modi as PM?Tariq Anwar: I don't think he is even a successful CM. Had he been a good CM, 2002 riots would not have taken place in Gujarat. Vajpayee would not have said that ‘Rajdharma' was not being followed by Modi. When the leader of his own party made such comments, how can he be an able PM ? Only a person, who has got the support of all sections, can be a good PM in this country. The PM of this country should have the ability of carrying along all communities. Narendra Modi lacks this ability. And he is facing opposition within his own party. After Advani's letter, Shatrughan Sinha's statement has come to the fore and there are many other leaders who are coming out against him. It seems there is no acceptability of Modi in BJP. To me, Modi's name has been forwarded only under pressure from RSS.Q: Coming to your own state Bihar, how do you look at the political discourse in the state after Nitish broke the alliance with BJP? According to you, what direction Bihar politics is moving to?Tariq Anwar: It's moving in the right direction. The BJP was sitting on the shoulders of Nitish Kumar and they tried to communalize the atmosphere in Bihar in last 8 years or so. Nitish rightly dissociated himself from BJP and the secular forces will get benefit from this.Q: Your own party has no base in Bihar. Are you doing anything for strengthening the base of your party in the state? And is there any possibility of your contesting Lok Sabha elections from Katihar in 2014?Tariq Anwar: We have not taken any decision as of now on my case. The party will take a decision on whether I should contest elections or not? But yes, you are right that we don't have a big base in Bihar. The reason is that Bihar politics is caste specific and every political party runs on caste. But I come from a family of freedom fighter and we try to carry along every section of the society. We never thought of striking any ‘social engineering' based on caste equations and that's why we could not create a base for ourselves. Q: One last question, along with Sharad Pawar and P A Sangma, you were the third member of the ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony' troika that revolted against Sonia Gandhi's PM candidature. Today, you are a minister in the same government of which Sonia Gandhi is seen as the Super PM. How do you look at your journey?Tariq Anwar: Sonia Jee herself decided that she will not become PM. So ultimately she accepted what we were saying. She realized that she will face many problems if she becomes PM. That's why she made Manmohan singh PM. We had never opposed her continuance as Congress PM. In fact, we had written to her that she should continue to serve the country as Congress president but since the post of PM was a constitutional one and we got independence after a long struggle against a foreign power, BJP may try to take mileage if your name is forwarded for PM post.

Sonia Gandhi should not have written letter to PM on Durga Nagpal issue: Union Minister Tariq Anwar (India TV Exclusive)

New Delhi: Tariq Anwar belonged to the famous ‘Amar- Akbar- Anthony' troika of Congress party that objected to Sonia Gandhi's candidature for PM citing her foreign origin. Along with Sharad Pawar and P A Sangma,

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