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| Q&A: DP Tripathi, chief spokesman of NCP | | 'Congress should keep coalition dharma in mind' |
| Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi Aug 01, 2010, 02:03 IST |
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DP Tripathi, the chief spokesman of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), tells Aditi Phadnis why the party exists
We understand that your party chief, Sharad Pawar, is holding a meeting of NCP ministers in the Maharashtra government on July 31 to decide if NCP can prepare itself to eventually cut links with its ally, the Congress...
The meeting is an effort to remind the Congress about its coalition dharma and discuss ways in which it can be persuaded to honour its responsibilities as a coalition partner. There is no doubt that we are in the government with the Congress in Maharashtra and at the Centre, and will continue to be part of the coalition. But a coalition is nothing but proportional sharing of power. So, that’s what we want.
So you’re feeling badly treated. But what is it that you’ve been denied? Whatever Sharad Pawar has asked for, he’s got, whether it is ministerships or appointments.
We have nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and we’re not asking that we be treated as if we have 206. But when this United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was sworn in, we were promised certain positions and posts. Those promises are yet to be fulfilled.
Posts such as?
We asked for a share of work in commissions like the Backward Classes Commission, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Commission and the Union Public Services Commission. Not a single individual has been appointed governor on our recommendation, though we were told in the last government that this would be done. Not a single nominated MP in the Rajya Sabha has been appointed after consulting us.
Towards the end of UPA-I, Congress leaders told us we would get at least one governor and a nominated MP. Nothing has happened. As I said before, we do not want the privileges of 206. But accomodation of some sort is essential in a coalition.
I’m afraid the political logic of some of the moves by NCP escapes us. NCP was part of the Congress-led United Democratic Alliance (UDF) in Kerala. That UDF is likely to come to power in the Assembly elections in 2011 is Kerala’s worst kept secret. But eight months before the elections, NCP decides to jump ship to the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, which is almost certain to lose. Now, why would you jump from the winning side to the losing one?
It isn’t like that. It is a different situation. We had been with LDF till 2006 when K Karunakaran and K Muraleedharan merged their Democratic Indira Congress-Karunakaran with NCP. Soon after the merger, NCP was booted out of LDF. Now, Karunakaran and Muraleedharan have left NCP. So, we have gone back to LDF.
So you’re going to support the Congress at the Centre and in Maharashtra but oppose it and join its fiercest rival in Kerala. Isn’t that confusing for the cadres?
Not at all. Our strategy is to follow all secular parties and support them wherever they are. We have four MLAs in Orissa and we are with the Biju Janata Dal. In Assam, we are with the Minorities Front. In Meghalaya, the Congress told us it was with us. But then it poached our MLAs to form its own government. So, in Meghalaya we are in opposition. But this is only because the Congress left us in the lurch. We would have formed a stable government if we’d been together in a spirit of sincerity.
In Maharashtra, you lost the last round of municipal elections to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Clearly, something went drastically wrong between you and the Congress, and BJP was able to take advantage of this.
Wherever the Congress has not been reasonable, there have been problems. Our point is, we have a coordination committee in Maharashtra. If the committee would have met more frequently, all these differences would not have arisen.
When you look at the broader canvas, how do you see politics unfolding over the next two years?
It depends. I see no danger to UPA-II. All our allies will continue to be in the government and support it. There are problems but none that cannot be resolved, for instance, with the Trinamool Congress. There are different parties in diferent parts of India and a coalition reflects this political pluralism. Single party domination will not work.
But when you see the extent to which the Congress is ready to bend, for instance, to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on the A Raja and spectrum issue, but keeps quiet on the IPL controversy in which Sharad Pawar was involved…
It’s just as well that it kept quiet. That was no controversy. In fact, I was the one who advised Pawar not to speak. I said: “I will handle it”. Certain individuals took advantage of Pawar, but the matter is sub judice and I should not say anything.
But it isn’t as if NCP doesn’t have problems of his own. We saw and heard Sharad Pawar come to Pune and threaten to disband NCP if it did not work unitedly for Suresh Kalmadi’s election. In that election, NCP worked actively for BJP.
That is not true. Once Pawar went to Pune, the party was united behind the Congress. The seat was given to the Congress and we helped it win.
Can you explain, against the background of all these ideological contradictions, why NCP should exist at all?
Our USP is our leader, Sharad Pawar. He not only supports the kisan (farmer) but is a practising farmer himself and understands their problems. We seek votes neither in the name of religion nor in the name of region, caste or language. Our party is based on modern liberal democratic thinking and believes in the development model. Our leader is one of the few political personalities who never takes an oath in the name of God. This suggests a rationalist outlook. There is democracy in our party. If we merge with the Congress, as has been suggested, we will have to pay obeisance to 10 Janpath. Self-respect is important to us.
There is a lot of talk about opposition unity. I suggest to you that a strong opposition is a headache for the government, but is good for the NCP…
A strong opposition is good for democracy. The fact is, the situation is beyond individuals and parties (smiles).
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