Shahid Siddiqui, a Bahujan Samaj Party MP until he was expelled recently, tells Saubhadro Chatterji about his political experience
You have worked in the Samajwadi Party (SP) and then with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Do you feel that regional parties are on a decline? The Congress and BJP claim the 2009 election results show India is heading towards a bipolar polity...
I don’t think that regional parties are going to decline soon. India is a diverse country in terms of culture, language, regions and religions. Here, no national party can effectively cater to the aspirations and the needs of different regions. You can see what is happening in Andhra Pradesh. The Congress is unable to represent the interest of either Telangana or other regions. So there will be smaller parties to represent the Hindus and Muslims; the upper castes and the lower castes; and different regions. As these two are the national-level parties, they have to take a different stand on local or regional issues and that is bound to alienate a lot of people.
You mean, one can’t do politics without the regional parties.
The regional parties started out with a very positive movement for empowering smaller groups, development for that region, decentralisation of power, etc. With the rise of regional parties, India became stronger. When the Congress dominated the Lok Sabha with more than two-third majority, there were problems in places like Assam, Punjab and Tamil Nadu. People who earlier thought they had no stake in India’s power politics, became stakeholders.
But gradually these movements have been taken over by some individuals. The movements brought some individuals as their faces, but individuals gradually became more important than the movement or parties.
The anti-defection law is now playing a negative role. Individual MP or MLA can’t have his say. As a result, this law is used by the satraps either to crush the voice of dissent or to sell off their own party. Retail defection of one or two MPs doesn’t take place, but wholesale defection of parties is the order of the day. Big bosses of smaller parties bargain with big parties and switch sides. The party chiefs gain a lot. This had happened during P V Narsimha Rao’s time and again recently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh won the trust vote last year.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has recently suggested that the state be divided into three. Do you agree with this?
I don’t think smaller states are a solution. The positive side is that they become more manageable; but there is also a flip side too. The world is becoming a global village, so why create more barriers by splitting states?
Let’s not divide the state but make four administrative zones and there can be four deputy chief ministers to look after these areas. The priorities are different and you have to effectively cater to these areas. If the government doesn’t want to appoint another State Reorganisation Commission, that’s fine. They can form a Joint Parliamentary Committee on how to address these regional aspirations. By creating a state you may solve one problem, but you’ll unleash ten new ones. Unfortunately, what has happened in the past two decades is that politicians have failed to rise above their own, small-time, interests. That’s why you require more democratic party structures. I have raised my voice not against Mayawati individually, but against this system. It’s also not about giving a voice to the party MP, but there has to be transparency, democracy and discussions inside the party. Unless there is debate and discussion, you can’t reach the right solution for the people.
Rahul Gandhi had recently come up with the proposal to create a Bundelkhand Development Authority...
This is a very positive approach. You may call the body anything, but the fact is that specific areas require specific solutions.
You have worked with both Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati. How would you like to compare their working styles?
The two parties have realised they can control their leaders with the help of the anti-defection law. So, they are becoming more and more individual or family enterprises. Mulayam Singh’s party also has a feudal character and the feudal lord still has love or sympathy for his people. The BSP is turning into a dictatorial, autocratic party. Nobody can even ask a question. In Mulayamji’s party, you can at least ask questions, discuss issues. They hold regular meetings. As the general secretary, I could raise my voice on many different things and even disagree with the party publicly. In BSP, even if you have to raise an issue in Parliament, you have to first talk to the bosses in Lucknow and seek their permission, ‘can I raise a point of order or can I intervene in a debate?’ That’s the reason why most of the BSP MPs remain absent from the House or, even if they are there, they sit silent.
When Mayawati came to the power in UP on her own strength, it was said she got votes for better governance. How far has she been able to do it?
Initially she had an iron control over the administration and she started delivering better results. But, at the ground level, now she is afraid of legislators. She has now given total freedom to them and they are out to ruin the entire system, while making a quick buck.
But she handed over her own MLA to the police a year ago.
But after losing the Lok Sabha election, she has lost confidence. She gave tickets to many non-Dalits. They did nothing for the Dalits because they had to serve other interests. Her Dalit MLAs and MPs also did nothing for their own people as they took them for granted and know they would get the Dalit votes anyway, no matter what they do.
Rahul Gandhi is making overtures to win back the Dalit vote bank. Do you think he will succeed?
Rahul Gandhi will not be able to win the Dalit vote but an exercise of this kind definitely enhances his image as a national leader. These are symbolic gestures and don’t work anymore. It’s like Hindi film’s ‘the good versus the evil’ plots of the 1960s and 1970s. Now, Hindi films need more complex ideas to become a hit. These simplistic gestures have, however, enhanced his image among the middle class. The middle class is always hypocritical — it will not go to the villages but want to see one of their class in the villages.
What are your future plans in politics?
I really don’t know. The current system doesn’t allow any thinking politician to survive. Leaders say, educated professionals should come to politics but, when they come, they are asked to keep quiet. I can’t be a dumb follower. I don’t think I can join a national party or parties like the BSP or SP. There was some leeway in the BJP but now, as RSS takes control, even that would be gone. I can’t join or make a Muslim-based party. There is a big dilemma for me as I find parties without any ideology. Right now, I have no party to join but I will not quit politics.
