'Some people have to serve the party'

Q&A: Digvijay Singh

AICC general secretary and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay Singh speaks to D K Singh on issues facing the party.

It is said you declined the offer of a Cabinet berth during the last reshuffle. You are said to be reluctant to join the Union government...

Nobody asked me to join the government. But I stand by what I said (about not willing to join the government). Some people have to be ready to serve the party also.

You are perceived as a leader setting the socialist agenda of the Congress party. What do you say about this perception?

It is not Digvijay Singh. It was set by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. Indiraji and Rajivji followed it. And now Soniaji is following it.

The result is for all to see "" National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Right to Information, etc. There has been an unprecedented increase in budgetary allocation for education and health. These have all been the Congress party's agenda.

While the government is gung ho about over 8 per cent growth rate, the party seems to be cautious in its reaction...

We are proud of the fact that the economy is doing so well and an unprecedented rate of growth has been achieved. What we expect now is that the high growth rate should lead to higher tax-GDP ratio since we need more money to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

At the chief ministers' conclave in Nainital, you were said to have criticised the government for no progress in the increase of public investment in agriculture. How does the party view the government's performance on this front?

If you look at all Plans from the First till now, the highest investment in agriculture was in the Fourth Plan, which registered the highest ever agricultural growth. So, when the PM talks of 9 per cent growth rate, there has to be higher investment in agriculture, whether in the form of subsidies to farmers or in the form of investment in irrigation projects or in agricultural research.

I am not saying that the government is not doing anything. Agricultural credit in the UPA regime has gone up much more compared to that during the NDA regime. But more needs to be done. The National Commission on Farmers has given an excellent report. The government should immediately implement it and make provisions accordingly in the next budget.

The Congress also seems to have strong reservation about the government's handling of inflation...

No political party can be comfortable with inflation. It is a matter of concern for the common man for whom we work. It concerns all. But the government is doing its best in the present circumstances. An inflationary trend is noticeable all over the world, not just in India.

The government is trying to bring down the prices of edible oil and is looking at inflation in essential commodities. It has been successful to some extent. We would like the government to consider taking out essential commodities from the futures trading so that speculative part about these commodities could be checked.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has been writing scores of letters to the ministers in UPA regime, virtually giving instructions on policy issues. How would you justify this political infringement of executive authority?

I have not seen any report about it. But we are all political beings and in democratic functioning, ultimately it's the political ideology which works.

What is the party's stance on SC/ST reservation in the private sector?

We have been saying that the most important thing is to have an inclusive rather than an exclusive society. Why can't the government reserve certain percentage of its purchases for SC/ST entrepreneurs? We did that in Madhya Pradesh and it was highly successful.

But what about reservation in private jobs?

What we are asking for today is affirmative action. Reservation in purchases is the first step. Secondly, there should be public declaration by all companies about the profiles of their employees, suppliers and distributors. We want that the companies should provide it in every balance sheet.

Our National Common Minimum Programme also says that efforts should be made to bring consensus among corporate houses to facilitate reservation in private sector. How to go about it "" through legislation or otherwise "" has to be discussed between the government and corporate houses.

What would you like the government to do with Justice Sachar panel report about minorities. Would you favour reservation for Muslim minority?

Reservation could be a part of the strategy because Muslims are socio-economically and educationally backward. But there is no question of reservation on religious grounds. The canards spread by the BJP in this regard are absolutely wrong. We never demanded reservation on religious lines. It should be done on the basis of socio-economic backwardness.

A section of the Congress party was said to be ill at ease with the haste with which HRD Minister Arjun Singh went about implementing OBC reservation in educational institutions. Would you put the record straight now?

Reservation for depressed classes like the OBCs is a part of the government strategy of affirmative action for them. There is no question of the government going about it in a haste. It was a well-considered, well thought of and agreed roadmap.

Would the Congress party favour a second term for President APJ Abdul Kalam?

This issue will be decided by Congress President Sonia Gandhi in consultation with the prime minister and UPA constituents and Left allies.

Coming back to your individual political career, why do you think people did not give you a mandate for the third term? Did you not come up to their expectations on development front?

I did not go wrong anywhere. It was because of the voters' fatigue. They wanted a change and got it.