Page 40 - 15FEB2019E

MANOJ SINHA I 59 YEARS
MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) AND RAILWAYS
‘After Independence, this

is the first government that is

seen in the villages’

AFTER INDEPENDENCE, it is claimed, this is the first government that is seen in the villages. manifesto. How long will you wait
“Government is knocking at the doors of the poor. All the coalitions and all the caste for the court’s decision? After the
equations will be broken and Narendra Modi will again become the prime minister of the court’s decision, any party can build
country with huge majority and Uttar Pradesh will make him PM,” said Telecom Minister a temple there. Apart from this, the
Manoj Sinha, one of the prominent leaders from Eastern Uttar Pradesh and the third time public frustration is increasing and
MP from Ghazipur, during an interview with DR ANIL SINGH. your voters are getting agitated too.
People are questioning the local
EDITED EXCERPTS FROM AN INTERVIEW • leaders and they are saying that in
the Center and the state, it’s your
After working in the campus politics of Uttar Pradesh were not unexpected government. Where is the problem?
for several days, you have reached ones. It was only unpredictable for those Ordinance can be issued for small
at the rank of a union minister. How media persons who do politics in Delhi. issues, new laws are made for minor
do you see your journey from being a We were working on the ground and we issues then what is the problem in
Banaras Hindu University President were assured that the results would be building a temple?
to an independent minister? in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. You are a senior journalist; you have
There are many people who have come As far as the chief minister’s post was asked many questions in one go. As far
across the student politics to the main- concerned, it was in media only and as the state assembly elections are con-
stream politics. There was a time when they have lesser information about the cerned, if you analyse it, you‘ll find if we
students’ politics used to be nursery of BJP’s decisions. That is why such news could have got 2,800 more votes in Mad-
politicians. I believe that the same train- was aired. The party decided very care- hya Pradesh then 12 MLAs would have
ing is helping me in my work. I joined fully and according to me, this decision been ours. Similarly, if we could have
the student council and later joined the was right. won 8,000 more votes in Rajasthan we
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) having the could have formed the government. So
same ideology. This may be the reason After some time, you were allege understand this difference that the BJP
that Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has to be involved in a crime. The way is not defeated in Madhya Pradesh and
given me the responsibility. politics has been blemished in the Rajasthan, Congress has won. Sometimes
past what is your take on it? luck plays an important role. If we would
During the Assembly elections of I think it will not be appropriate for me to have done a little better management we
Uttar Pradesh 2017, the results were comment on a criminal’s word and I do would have won both the elections. Sec-
unexpected, and there was also a not even want to say much about it. ondly, I would like to say that just before
buzz around that the top leadership the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the three
had preset the responsibility of the In the last Assembly elections, the assembly elections were held.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for result was in favor of the Congress BJP got majority in the three states,
you. The situation changed in the last and after that the Ram temple while the Lok Sabha elections were not
few moments. Do you agree with the issue was talk of the town in Uttar favorable. In 1984, Congress had got a
media reports? Pradesh. It was just your party that huge majority in the country and when
At first, let me tell you that the results had included Ram temple issue in its the elections were held in Karnataka,

TEHELKA / 15 FEBRUARY 2019 40 WWW.TEHELKA.COM

40-47 Q&A Anil Singh.indd 2 2/1/2019 8:18:25 PM