With less than two years left for the General Election, Prudent Media interviewed author, former UN official and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor to know his stand on a diverse range of issues, including his running for the Congress President’s post, the grand old party’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatra and its strategy for the upcoming election.
Stating that the upcoming election is an important one, Tharoor said, “If we continue as usual, we will only have ourselves to blame if BJP is able to persist in continuing, and therefore it is important to coordinate with those who are like-minded about the kind of India we want to see in future. At the same time, those of us within the party who believe we can feel for the public which did not vote for us in the last elections, can come back to us, that challenge is still open. I do not think that is over.”
Speaking on challenges facing the Congress, Tharoor said, “The challenge for us as a responsible opposition is to be able to say to the public – we understand what your issues are. For nine years (of the BJP rule) did you see any improvement in your life. So far you have not found a viable alternative, here we are. Come to us and we will improve your lives. That’s the message Congress party is capable of giving because the more we look back to the 10 years of the Manmohan Singh government, the better it seems.”
When pointed out that the society is becoming polarised and the opposition space is failing to understand this phenomenon and tackle it with appropriate response, Tharoor agreed that the society has become more polarised, particularly the Northern India, because of the ruling party.
He added, “Half the Hindus would be enough to win them in a multiparty election. There are 80 % Hindus in India, and half of them, 40 % if vote for BJP, it would help them win. That is why polarisation has been pursued with such enthusiasm.”.
When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s decision to focus on the yatra instead of assembly polls in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, Tharoor replied, “Rahul Gandhi has not gone to Himachal Pradesh, but he went to Gujarat. We ourselves are criticising the BJP for being a one man’s party. Do we want to make a Congress party a mirror of it? We should all have our own capacity to do the campaigning, why copy BJP?”
Admitting that the BJP’s idea of Hindutva has ascended and the ideology of the Congress has descended, Tharoor expressed hope that the struggle (to regain the lost glory) is worth measuring and the battle can still be won (by the Congress).
