The Rediff Interview/Narain Dutt Tiwari

'The political atmosphere needs a overhaul'

As his tussle with Congress vice-president Jitendra Prasada peaked, party president Sitaram Kesri summoned former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Narain Dutt Tiwari from Canada. And asked him to head the party's state unit.

Within 24 hours of his assuming charge as Uttar Pradesh Congress president, signs of rebellion began to show. Days later, with the Bahujan Samaj Party pulling the rug from under the Kalyan Singh government, the Uttar Pradesh Congress unit was on the brink of a disaster with a breakaway backing the BJP government in the trust vote.

Despite his rich experience -- he was UP's chief minister on four occasions, was the party's state unit chief twice, held major portfolios like external affairs, industry, finance and planning in the Union Cabinet -- Tiwari finds it an uphill task to rejuvenate the state unit.

Yet, Tiwari gives the impression of being unruffled by the recent political developments.

In fact, he has seen worse times, including the days when he was sidelined during P V Narasimha Rao's tenure. Joining hands with another Congress rebel Arjun Singh, he had floated his own party which was merged with the Congress after Kesri took over the party's reigns.

In an exclusive interview with Sharat Pradhan, the 73-year-old leader spells out his strategy for the Congress's revival. Excerpts:

How do you feel returning to state politics after a long stint at the national level?

It is like home coming. After all, I have worked in the state for 58 years.... Working in Uttar Pradesh is like working at the national level as the state plays a very major role in moulding the country's political destiny.

Returning to the state after a brief national spell, do you see a lot of difference in the overall political environment?

Values have changed drastically and the level to which people stoop to now were unimaginable some time back.

Are you referring to the unruly scenes in the recent state assembly?

Yes, that is one aspect.

Are you aware that your own partymen were squarely responsible for instigating the violence?

I was given a different impression by my partymen.

Video clips shown on national and international channels confirm the Congress role....

Let's not go into fixing the blame. I feel the political atmosphere in its totality needs to be overhauled.

What do you have to say about the 22 Congress MLAs who deserted your party to bail out Kalyan Singh?

It is unfortunate, but it only reflects their own weakness. The manner in which the BJP managed to score a majority is objectionable.

One important fact has been conveniently overlooked: three of the 22 Congress and 12 BSP legislators attract the provisions of the anti-defection law. These members, comprising less than a third of the respective parties's existing members, cannot be recognised as a breakaway group.

As a veteran politician, what do you think of the state's economy?

Political instability has taken a heavy toll on the economic front. No one seems to be bothered about vital issues like a sound industrial policy, creation of basic infrastructure and the rising unemployment.

How do you propose to correct this?

I will make people realise that basic issues are more important and that we have to rise above caste, religion and politics if we have to punch a hole in the vicious circle.

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