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The Rediff Special /Vazhappadi Ramamurthy

'The Congress is a party of sycophants... I am proud of it. That is the culture of our party'

Vazhappadi Ramamurthy quit the Narasimha Rao government on a matter of principle, left the Congress along with Arjun Singh and N D Tiwari and returned to the parent party last year. Always outspoken, Ramamurthy discusses Sonia Gandhi's entry into the party, this month's organisational poll and a likely general election, in this first person piece, exclusive to Rediff On The NeT.

On Sonia Gandhi's entry into the party:

Sonia Gandhi I am delighted to hear that Sonia Gandhi has enrolled herself as a primary member of the party. In 1991, our Tamil Nadu Congress unit under my leadership was the only PCC in India which unanimously passed a resolution that Soniaji should become the Congress president. We are consistent in our demand. I have always been saying that only she can save the party. When I met her recently, I requested her to take over the party leadership. The Congress is faction-ridden and directionless and I am sure that nobody except the Nehru family can save the party from further deterioration. And in the Nehru family, the only available leadership is from Sonia Gandhi.

Recently after my son's wedding, we went to Delhi and my son and daughter-in-law got her blessings. My relationship with Soniaji is a continuous one. Whether she comes to power or not is redundant to me. My personal attachment to the family is the most important thing in my life.

I am sorry to say that the media in this country is highly coloured. Just because somebody from that family is involved in Congress politics all the time, it does not mean that they have dominated the party and party men. They are also contesting elections. Rajiv Gandhi went to the polls six weeks after he became leader and won by a huge margin. And you call it family rule? We are democratic. You can say family rule is there in Indonesia or somewhere else, but not in India.

You just wait and see what will happen in the general election once Soniaji becomes leader. Compared to leaders of other parties, Soniaji's leadership is far better than anybody else's. You may say that she has no experience. What about Deve Gowda? Did he have any experience? The same media gave Rajiv Gandhi the title 'Mr Clean' when he did not have any experience. I will not accept any of your arguments. Experience never counts in Indian politics.

You may consider her a foreigner but as far as we Congressmen and the Indian people are concerned, she is an Indian more than anybody else. She has a family here, her husband was an Indian and she has become an Indian citizen. How can you call her a foreigner?

I agree that there is a dearth of leadership in the party. That is the truth. You can't brush aside the truth. The leadership vacuum in the Congress has been there from 1991 onwards. You know very well how Narasimha Rao spoiled the Congress. You know how others are spoiling it now. So it is time that she took over. We do not want to elect some young leader and conduct experiments.

Whether you like it or not, the reality is that Sonia Gandhi is the party. The Congress is always known for its sycophants. Right from the days of Mahatma Gandhi, the Congress has been a party of sycophants. I am not ashamed of saying that. In fact, I am proud of it. That is the culture of our party.

Sitaram Kesri I don't think Kesri does not want Sonia Gandhi as the party president. He is a veteran Congressman. He knows the party more than anybody else and he also knows the kind of affection the party members have for the Nehru family. So, I don't think he is afraid of anything. But I will tell you one thing: if Soniaji decides to become the Congress president, no power on this earth can prevent her.

Of course, we will have elections but the choice will be unanimous. She will be a unanimous choice of the millions of Congressmen in this country. Then the party will be rejuvenated and it will be in a position to face elections. If Rajiv Gandhi's children also want to join politics, we welcome them. We are all honoured.

You can't blame the party and the Nehru family for poverty. You can't bring about change in just fifty years. You compare ourselves with Pakistan or the African countries and then tell me. In the US, even after 200 years, they still have people who are homeless and dying of starvation.

The Congress party elections:

The allegations about the irregularities in the party polls is true. The Election Commission has given three adjournments after the party elections were postponed, and ultimately the AICC had to advance the date of the elections by a month to June 15. But Congressmen, particularly those in Tamil Nadu, feel that they are cheated because the last date of enrollment was March 31. The AICC should have conducted the elections with the particulars that were there till then, but for reasons known only to them they postponed the elections. Naturally the Election Commission has come down heavily on them.

Moreover, the Election Commission itself has said the elections have to be conducted according to the party constitution, but unfortunately it was not followed at all by the AICC. The calendar which the AICC prepared and the PCCs are asked to adopt is like this:

May 11: Publication of the electoral rolls at the district level.

May 12: Publication of the electoral rolls at the state level.

May 13: if I find any irregularities, I can appeal to the AICC.

Even if I were to fly, I wouldn't be able to reach there and appeal. According to the party rules, two months should be given for appeal, scrutiny etc. So, this is a clear violation of the rules. Their excuse is that the Election Commission has not given them enough time. Does that mean that I should be strangulated?

Thangabalu took over as ad hoc committee president at the end of February. They started enrollment from that day onwards. Now the PCC claims they have more than 2.8 million members. The funny thing is that in the last election when we fought in alliance with the AIADMK, we scored only 1.8 million votes. It means 1 million Congressmen did not vote for the Congress! In Coimbatore we are a big zero, but Thangabalu claims we have 350,000 members!

Our suspicion is that they have just paid money to the bank and are cooking up membership books. They have not verified how many membership books are received and how many are utilised. They are just using the census and voter's lists to fill in the books. You can find the names of the TMC, DMK and the AIADMK people in our books.

We have 56,000 polling booths. They claim they have conducted elections in all the 56,000 booths in one day. Tell me, how can it be possible? It is nothing but a mockery of democracy. It is a farce and they are cheating genuine members of the party.

I am telling you again, all this is a farce. They want to appoint somebody, they want to get it on the papers and they want to declare it. They are using the name of elections as an excuse, that's all. That is why all of us including one of the senior-most leaders, Maragatham Chandrasekhar, have criticised them. We are conducting elections after 25 years. And you call this an election?

We do not want this kind of election. How can you say this is a democratic party?

On Bofors:

I K Gujral Bofors is not a new issue. V P Singh became prime minister because of the Bofors card. In 1989, he said, if you elect me as prime minister, I will bring everything to light in 15 days. 1,500 days are over and still nothing has been lit. Whenever the family wants to come closer to politics, this is the bogey played by vested interests like Narasimha Rao, Deve Gowda and now Gujral. We know all this.

When he was prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi categorically said in Parliament that neither he nor his family members were involved in the Bofors affair. What more do you want? Now you are going by information leaked by the CBI. I am 1000% sure that Rajiv Gandhi's name is not there. I also know it will not affect the Congress in any way.

On I K Gujral versus Moopanar:

What I am saying does not have anything to do with my personal equation with Moopanar. When you have to choose between Moopanar and Gujral, Gujral is the best choice.

I know Moopanar well. The Indian prime minister should be a leading light. We should not become a laughing stock in front of the world. Even Deve Gowda had some previous experience as chief minister of a state. Moopanar does not only not have any experience, he has never had a clear idea on any issue. He does not answer clearly on anything. I know him in and out. He is the best man for making peace, that's all.

I don't agree with the view that he has shunned positions throughout his career. In politics, if anybody says he is not interested in power and is not aspiring for power, he is a hypocrite. Politics means achieving political power. If Moopanar does not aspire for power, why has he become a Rajya Sabha member, not once but thrice? It is he who says that he was offered Cabinet posts. Is there any prime minister who can clarify that?

The United Front Government:

This khitchdi of 14 parties will not continue for long. It is full of contradictions and it is directionless. It is like somebody coming for a vacation to occupy the prime minister's office. I am sure this will not continue. I expect a general election before next May. The next election will be a fight between the Congress and the BJP, and definitely the Congress will prevail.

We should not be blamed for supporting them. We will support the UF, but not at the cost of the Congress party. That does not mean that we have given power to the CPI-M to hold us by our throats. It does not mean the Janata Dal can say whatever they want against us.

It is true that Congressmen in the states are unhappy. You have to accept the reality. In Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, everywhere, they are unhappy. But at the state level, we are given freedom to attack them. I don't think it is contradictory. We have only 145 people so we cannot form the ministry on our own but we cannot destabilise the system. We cannot allow communal forces to come to power.

General Elections:

Laloo Yadav As far as the Congress is concerned, we are ever ready for elections. In fact, we are more prepared than any other party. We do not have to withdraw support for the UF to fall. They themselves will collapse. Eradicating corruption was one of their Common Minimum Programmes, then why are they scared of Laloo Prasad Yadav? Why didn't they discuss the charges against him at the last UF steering committee meeting? This is hypocrisy.

When Antulay was charged, Indira Gandhi asked him to step down the very next day. Gujral has no guts to say that to Laloo Yadav. The United Front steering committee has no guts. They are scared that the fragile alliance of 14 parties might collapse any time.

As told to Shobha Warrier

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