Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) can’t ally with the SP and the LJP in Bihar and Jharkhand, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, deputy leader of the RJD in the Lok Sabha, tells Saubhadro Chatterji
Have you met your successor in the rural development ministry, CP Joshi? His aides told us he wanted to meet you for tips about the ministry.
No, we haven’t met yet. And frankly, I am not hung up on the rural development ministry. I was given the task of running the ministry five years ago. I did my job. I don’t look back. I don’t even ask questions related to the ministry in Parliament. Earlier also, after leaving the power ministry in Bihar, I did not associate myself with it in any way.
You drafted the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill. Now, Mamata Banerjee wants major changes in it, including giving farmers the option to buy back land and no government role in land acquisition.
About giving farmers the right to buy back their land if the project doesn’t take off, I don’t think this is a very balanced view. While we were preparing the Bill, there were suggestions to this effect. But we found them unviable. Tell me, if the farmer has to get back his land, what price should he pay to the government? Will he also pay the interest that has accrued on the money in the period? It will be very complicated. Yeh practical solution nahin hai (this is not a practical solution)
About the government’s interference in land acquisition, I was initially of the opinion that only 10 per cent land should be acquired by the government. But because of some pressures and other considerations, we settled on the 70:30 formula (the government can acquire 30 per cent after the private party has bought the rest). The government can be given a role if some people try to do mischief in cases where people are ready to sell. I don’t think it’s prudent to block the state entirely from land acquisition.
The RJD was the biggest ally of the Congress in the earlier UPA government. From 22 seats in Bihar in 2004, it is down to four in 2009. How did this happen?
We made a major mistake of not allying with the Congress. For the last five years, we have been holding the Congress’s hand. And suddenly, just before the polls, we distanced ourselves from our partner and embraced others. People rejected this as they thought we were opportunists.
Is this the only reason?
No. There are other reasons as well. Our party machinery didn’t work well. Our party didn’t publicise properly our achievements during the UPA rule. We did wonders in railways and rural development. But these achievements were not highlighted properly.
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But the common perception is that people voted for the development plank of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Not at all. People might have voted for Nitish Kumar’s governance in two or three constituencies. If people had really voted on development, the RJD’s seats would have increased. There was no link between vote and development in Bihar. We, as central ministers, did everything that people wanted. We still didn’t get votes. Two factors dominated — caste and cash. In my own constituency, Vaishali, you have seen the development that has taken place due to my efforts. But my rival got 250,000 votes. How is this possible if people voted for development?
Once you told Nitish Kumar he would get zero from you for governance. How much will you give him now?
I will still give him zero. He has done nothing for Bihar. He is just spending the Centre’s funds. My biggest allegation against Nitish is that he is defrauding people. Law and order has deteriorated under his regime but he is getting undue accolades from the media. Everyone else can see the deterioration of Bihar, except the media. Corruption has crossed all limits under Nitish Kumar. He has not updated the BPL (below poverty line) list in rural Bihar. Two of his ministers, in Banka and Siwan, forfeited their deposits in the polls. Tell me, what happened to this so-called wave for Nitish in these two seats? Or did the wave bypass Banka and Siwan, going elsewhere like a cyclone?
What is your plan for revival?
We need to unite all secular forces, including the Congress. How will this happen? That’s up to the leaders. If possible, the Left should also be brought on board. At the same time, we have to focus more on people’s issues and spend more time in Bihar. Lalu (Prasad) boarded the train (railway ministry) and lost touch with the ground situation in Bihar. We have already started district-wise agitation programmes in Bihar against the Nitish Kumar government.
But Lalu Prasad criticised the Congress on many issues during the first session of the 15th Lok Sabha.
We are supporting the Congress but that does not mean we have to stand behind it on every issue.
Elections in Jharkhand will be held shortly. Bihar elections are due in another two years. Will your party continue its alliance with Mulayam Singh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and Ramvilas Paswan’s Lok Janashakti Party (LJP)?
This combination has not worked. So, we can’t continue with the alliance in the coming elections. I personally feel that the RJD should go back to the Congress and form an alliance. We should have a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress for Jharkhand and Bihar polls.
Every day, leaders from your party and joining the Nitish Kumar camp.
From the inception of the RJD, people have been coming in and out of the party. We are used to such things. This is not a matter of concern for us.