Tejashwi Yadav: My friendship with Rahul is to save the constitution

I do not see 2019 as a contest between the BJP and the Congress. The next general election will be contested solely to save the Constitution. I am clear in my mind that the contest will be between forces of GandhiAmbedkar and Mandal on the one hand and that of Golwalkar and Godse on the other. It will be a battle of ideologies. Each party will have to take a side. There is no middle path as far as I can see. People of every caste and community are troubled today. Inequality is increasing. The poor is becoming poorer and the rich is getting richer. It is imperative that political parties rise above their own interests and come together in national interest.

It’s the duty of every citizen to attack the organisation that speaks of imposing its warped idea of India. Even today the National Flag is not hoisted at the RSS headquarters in Nagpur but it goes about distributing certificates of nationalism. This organisation speaks of ending reservation, changing the basic features of our Constitution and modify democratic processes. This government has not only appointed old RSS hands as governors and in the bureaucracy but also in colleges and universities. RSS workers and supporters have infiltrated every layer of the government and they are being allowed one extension after another. It is my political duty to oppose the RSS You were the Deputy Chief Minister in Bihar and now you are the leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly.

You were the Deputy Chief Minister in Bihar and now you are the leader of the opposition in Bihar Assembly. How do you find the ground situation in your state? Why only Bihar, the entire country is going through an undeclared Emergency. You will find very few people who are happy with the Modi government but only a handful dare to speak up. The PM is forever on election mode. How many more elections does he have to win first before he starts devoting more time to work? Is the PM’s job confined to winning elections? He promised 20 million jobs a year and now claims that people engaged in selling street food on their own initiative are also employed. The economy is languishing; there is no clue where black money is. Modi has reversed the reforms initiated by Manmohan Singh. There have been serious reverses in foreign policy. Countries such as Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, which were our allies, have become our enemies.

There is no comparison between Modi and Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh was one of the best Prime Ministers we have had. Get me a chance to put questions to Modi. He will not be able to answer my questions. How will he face Manmohan Singh? Say you do get an opportunity to put a question or two to the Prime Minister. What would you like to ask him? It’s a big if; highly unlikely that I will get to ask him questions. But what if you do ? If I do get to ask him questions as a journalist, rest assured I will not keep quiet and nod passively at his replies. I see many journalists do that. I would like to prepare well, ask him supplementary questions and not allow him to wriggle out by mouthing platitudes or downright lies.

Isn’t it a cadre-based party which can fall back on the RSS, arguably the world’s largest NGO? It’s true that organisations are not built overnight or in a year or two. It will take time. Strengthening cadre base is a long process. But this is one of my priorities and I am working towards it. But a good organisation is no good if you lose the support, trust and affection of the people. I sense a growing anger among people with the Modi government. The public mood is changing rapidly. People of India will give him a befitting response.

I do not see any tension or a tug-of-war. I do speak to leaders of all parties and they seem to be on the same page. I am sure all these leaders are aware of the consequences of standing together as against fighting each other. Surely you have not forgotten the photograph of Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati together at Bengaluru?

I don’t think that is even part of the opposition’s strategy at the moment. No one has even staked any claim as such. Yes, Rahul Gandhi was asked if he would be the PM and he had replied that if Congress emerged as the single largest party, why not? Whichever party emerges as the single largest party would obviously have a more legitimate claim. But at the moment, this is not even a concern. The opposition does not have to have a PM candidate before the election. It is not a presidential election that we have.

I worked with him for barely 18 months. During this time, my entire focus was on the promises we had made during the election campaign and draw up plans and implement them. But before the government could stabilise, Nitish uncle changed sides. If you observe his language of late, he once again appears desirous of a change. He was with the BJP and the NDA and probably felt more comfortable with them. He just needed an excuse to switch sides.

Give me one reason why I should worry about him. We trusted him so much that we even gave up the post of the Assembly Speaker also to his party although RJD was the largest party. If we had our own Speaker, he may not have done what he did. He was a friend we trusted. But now I see things more clearly. Keshrinath Tripathi, Governor of West Bengal, was given additional charge of Bihar and he arrived in Patna the day before Nitishji resigned. BJP was also holding a meeting around that time. Within hours they joined hands and he was back in the saddle as Chief Minister. There clearly was a ready plan of action. The corruption charge against me was just a fig leaf.

He has committed four mistakes in four years. Before elections, he formed a coalition with us and said that it was a mistake to form the government with the BJP. After 18 months, he said that he committed a mistake (by forming a government with RJD). Now he feels it was a mistake to have gone back to the BJP… remember Jitan Ram Manjhi even earlier? He has been changing sides constantly since 2010. Who after all is being affected by it? The people of Bihar and development of Bihar, where four governments were formed in four years with only one Chief Minister who struck a deal with every party and betrayed each one of them

Congress has never changed sides while Nitishji has changed sides four times in four years. If the Congress can form an alliance with Nitishji, then I think it can also form an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. But these are idle talks, rumours.

My father did make Nitish Kumar the CM even while knowing that Nitishji could betray him anytime. Chachaji (Nitish) could join hands with BJP and could file cases against us. Yet, we not only made him the CM but also gave him equal seat share. If we take into account the respective vote share, social base of the party, then Janata Dal (United) does not stand anywhere in comparison. But we still yielded to him in the interest of consensus and in the interest of the state.

The focus of my discussion with Rahul Gandhi was how to protect democracy and the Constitution which are under threat from the Modi regime. The objective of my meeting with Rahul Gandhi was to explore ways to protect the Constitution. I am very happy to see Rahul Gandhi raising issues of public interest, whether they are farmers’ concerns, issue of bank frauds or problems faced by the common man. You must have noticed that the Prime Minister has no answers to the questions Rahulji raises. Whenever he raises the issue of corruption or atrocities against Dalits or the scams during the Modi regime, we support him on every issue. We share the same concerns.