'A divergent view is not necessarily dissidence'

Q&A/ Newly-appointed Delhi Congress chief J P Agarwal

Were you surprised when you heard that you had been made the Delhi Congress chief ?

Yes, I was very surprised. There was some talk in the air earlier of some change, but that I would be appointed was a surprise.

Now that you are in charge, what are your plans for Delhi?

Delhi is not new to me. My father was the first Indian deputy mayor of Delhi when Aruna Asaf Ali became mayor. I have also been part of the Congress for a long time. The challenges are the same as anywhere else: the ability to pull together, to strengthen the district Congress committees and to motivate our political workers to put in more effort.

The recent land scam and the protests against private discoms, and also the government, by various MLAs show that the Congress' house in Delhi is deeply divided? Your comments.

In fact, these are not the only problems, there are many others. The party high command is aware of all these. Whatever these problems, whether with the style of functioning, or genuine problems of MLAs and party workers which are not finding an outlet within the party, we have to make sure that these are addressed within the mechanism of the party organisation.

But what about the often-violent protests by MLAs against private discoms? They (MLAs) say that it is a constituency issue?

Well, let us face it. The privatisation of power transmission has happened and it has been several years since it was done. It is time that MLAs and others accept that there is no going back on the unbundling of the Delhi Vidyut Board, and instead look at ways to come to a reasonable conclusion to the problem. Blaming the government for what it thought was a reformist move, is not right. There are problems, but they can be thrashed out.

The recent land scam saw a situation where party MLAs accused others in the party of trying to bribe MLAs into toppling the chief minister. That is a serious allegation. Are you going to take action against them?

Some have been issued show-cause notices by the party. Other than that, what I genuinely feel is that you will have to draw a line somewhere, to say categorically that all this is in the past. We will start moving forward from this point and not look back at what one said or what one did. My question to everyone in the party is that will I become a big man by making a Congress chief minister look small?

Our party is in power and as an organisation, we have to make sure that whatever our reservations against the government, whether on style of functioning of certain persons or concrete issues, they are articulated in the forum provided by the party and not on the streets. Sloganeering by a Congressman against a Congress government will not be tolerated. I have been appointed so that people can come to me and talk. I want the party people to use me as a post office, even between them and the government. As a parliamentarian, even I have grievances against the central government, even though my own party is heading it. I articulate it in the House, where everyone appreciates the point you are trying to make, and not on the street.

What was Sonia Gandhi's brief to you?

Just to keep everyone together, to take collective decisions. It was a short meeting but this was the gist of what she told me.

Will Sheila Dikshit be the chief ministerial candidate for the Congress in December 2008?

How can I answer that question. It is up to the high command to decide. There is still time before that particular decision is taken. For me, the target is the party's readiness for the 2008 polls.

There was a co-ordination committee between the legislative party and the government that had been set up last year, but it never met. Are you planning to revive that?

It is my job to co-ordinate between the party and the government, but if need be, a committee can be set up. Have you met your predecessor Ram Babu Sharma? Both he and general secretary Ashok Gehlot are considered anti-Dikshit and your appointment is being considered a setback for them?

I don't think it is a setback or that they are anti-Dikshit. As for my appointment, I have never aligned with groups and they have welcomed me as warmly as the chief minister. In fact, Ram Babu Sharma came to my house to meet me and I have already announced that none of the office-bearers of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee who he had appointed are to be changed. I can work with everyone.

How do you define dissidence ? What kind of actions will draw punishment?

A divergent view is not necessarily dissidence. If you are a Congressman and you have a different view than what I hold, but you choose to express it to me within the privacy of a closed room, that is not dissidence. I refuse to punish anyone for that. If, however, you go out on the street and broadcast this difference of opinion, then that is dissidence. I will not condemn any MLA for speaking up for his voters, but not in a way that diminishes the dignity of the government headed by your party.

How seriously do you view the threat from the Bahujan Samaj Party? The party did grab 17 seats in the local body elections in Delhi.

The BSP is not a force in Delhi. Some of its candidates who won were actually our people who, when denied a ticket, fought on a BSP ticket, in the next election. It is not clear whether these people will remain in the BSP. To correctly assess the strength of the BSP, one needs to see how much (support) it garnered in the Assembly and General elections.