RK Singh's 'Power Point' on Lok Sabha Polls: INDIA Front Has No Vision, Ideology; BJP-JD(U) Will Sweep Bihar | Exclusive

Union power minister and BJP leader RK Singh. File pic/News18

On a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the opposition in Bihar, his colleague from the state RK Singh predicted a clean sweep in the Lok Sabha elections for the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal (United) combine in the state. Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, the union power minister and BJP’s Aarah MP said the opposition INDIA front might be restricted to only a couple of seats in Bihar.

“This front has no vision, no ideology. They are all discredited leaders. If you ask the RJD, they have never heard of the term ‘ideology.’ For them, it is only family. Sonia Gandhi is not a popular mass leader, the same with Rahul Gandhi, and that is why he was forced to change his constituency. Even the convener of their so-called front (Nitish Kumar) is now with us. The only card they know how to play is the caste card but this time even that will not work. If they get one or two seats, they should be happy. It is NDA all the way,” Singh said.

He also claimed that everything was hunky-dory between the JD(U) and Bihar BJP after Nitish Kumar’s return to the fold. When asked if the “Paltu Kumar” branding by the opposition will hold, Singh said, “I don’t think so. His probity in public life and the development he brought to Bihar while with NDA will not be forgotten. I don’t think he will now go back to the RJD since he realises it is impossible to work with them.”

‘Kejriwal’s arrest based on law’

Singh dismissed the charge of the opposition that the BJP is using the central agencies to disturb any level playing field in the upcoming polls. Election or no election, said the minister, law must reign supreme.

“There is a presumption in your question that the BJP had anything to do with Kejriwal’s arrest. It was done by the ED at a time that the investigating officials thought best,” Singh said when asked if the BJP’s internal calculations show no sympathy vote for the Aam Aadmi Party after its comvener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s recent arrest in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. The BJP leader also pointed out that courts monitor the central agencies. So allegations of political interference are baseless since courts have refused bail to the likes of AAP’s Manish Sisodia, he added.

The bureaucrat-turned-politician said that the Aam Aadmi Party had lost its core voters because of the corruption taint. “You are right that the Poorvanchali voters were with AAP so far, but you go out and ask them now, this time they will all say they’re going to vote for the BJP. How can you vote for a man who swore on his children that he would never join hands with the Congress, who claimed corruption was intolerable, and then went and built a palatial house? Look at the way his mind functioned. He deliberately did not keep any department under him and did not sign any file. Look at the way his brain functioned. People are seeing through the lies,” he said.

‘Running govt from jail unethical, impractical’

When asked if there is a fit case for the lieutenant governor to recommend President’s rule in Delhi, the former union home secretary said that the jail manual is clear about meetings and files, and therefore running a government from jail was unethical and impractical.

“There is something called ethics which is over and above law. Imagine someone who is tainted with corruption insisting that he will not step down, that he will continue as the chief minister. The L-G will have to come up with a decision based on legal advice. But there are practical problems. A lawyer can have only limited ‘mulaqat’ (meetings). What if a crisis emerges needing the CM’s intervention and the lawyer is unable to meet the CM at that point? Should governance suffer?” the minister asked.