Edited Excerpts from an interview •
As soon as your name comes up, the first question arises as to whether your “hard-hitting” comments are spontaneous or deliberate?
See, you have pointed out rightly. All journalists ask me the same. I don’t know as to why what I say in my statements appears “hard-hitting” to others. But I certainly know that whatever I say I tell the truth. And when I tell the truth it does not appeal to the intolerant, pseudo-secular persons and those who talk of pseudo-secularism and they feel bad about it. They are dealers in votes and that is why they react to what we say. I tell the harsh truth and those belonging to pseudo-secular and award-wapasi gang lack the power to listen to harsh truth.
What is the reason that most of your comments are related to religion?
I do not know. Politics is not practiced in a planned manner. I am not to comment on those who practice politics by planning. Politics is the voice of inner conscience and I do what this voice dictates to me. It is true that India was partitioned on religion basis. Then it was decided that Pakistan would be on communal lines and the Hindus in India would not echo their voice and that would be the true definition of secularism. It seems we have accepted this and perhaps that is why people misinterpret the spirit behind my comments.
How is it that you are one of the most popular ministers in the Modi Government?
I don’t know. It is unfortunate that I do the work of development which does not get reflected in the media. It was just in recent past days that it was mentioned that jobs were not being given. Even today I say it with authority that my Ministry provided about 2.5 crore jobs in MSME sector, two million jobs under financial inclusion and 1.9 million entrepreneurs during the past four years, However, there is no mention about it in the media.
Most of your statements are on religious issues and there has been no mention about policy vision document pertaining to your ministry. and why it is so?
It is unfortunate that whenever I say and even now I am saying, you are twisting the argument and asking me the same thing. I am saying with authority that they (UPA) provided 1.1 million jobs in the MSME sector in 2010-2014 under financial inclusion. It is not an oral statement but is supported by the data and I provided jobs to 1.9 million people. Is it not a development? Is it not a document? They (UPA) accomplished 17 clusters and my department under the leadership of Modi ji accomplished 103 clusters. Is it not a vision document? You just discuss with us about vision document, the MSME sector has weathered many storms, especially the demonetization and the GST and my department and the government gave this sector a supporting stage as a result of which it didn’t falter but continued to march ahead.
Have you been officially authorised by the party as far as your line of thinking on the Hindus, Muslims and religion is concerned, because the party has to breathe heavily while defending your statements and, in the end, it lets off by stating that it was a personal statement.
Individually, there are some personal issues in political and social life. If you talk of Hindus, you are a communal and if you talk of Muslims then you are a secular, because the Muslims are in minority. If I say that the Muslims should be divested of the minority status, you will immediately brand me a communalist. I am putting it on record today that this is what pains me.
The problem is that your own coalition government gets trapped into trouble in your own home state because of your statements.
Watch, I have never bothered as to who gets into trouble, I have the right to put forward my views logically and I do so. The day I realise that I am no more useful for the party and the politics, I will leave politics as well the party.
Do you feel that you are still in the Cabinet despite being the most controversial person in the entire cabinet?
I reiterate once again that two streams of thought are flowing in the country. One stream of thought is that of pseudo-secularism. Nobody objects to the release of the movie PK and the sexy portrayal of Goddess Durga; nevertheless, even the misplacement of a hair of the Holy Prophet could results in great commotion. Is it the real meaning of secularism? How much sufferings would the Hindus have to undergo to save India from the breakdown. One partition of the nation has already taken place, can I not express my agony? When I talk about India’s population, communalism creeps in and when I articulate my personal feelings then also communalism seeps in. Do the people in this country want Hindus to be subjected to abuse, continue to suffer and we hold up the flag of secularism. This is what is called pseudo-secularism.
Can everything be weighed in the similar manner? In 2015 you had stated that Rajiv Gandhi married Sonia Gandhi and had Rajiv Gandhi married a Nigerian woman, would he have not got the same respect? Is this the respect of women in your eyes and is it the basis of humanity?
Please see that while sitting at home if I am talking about something and that talk is presented in a distorted manner, this is called yellow journalism. Did I say I’m sorry to say something on this? This was yellow journalism. You live in the house and if someone puts a CCTV camera in the bathroom and then claim that you are taking a bare bath, they will say that Giriraj Singh lives without clothes and this is what happened here.
In 2014 when Prime Minister Modi’s campaign for Lok Sabha election was going on, you made a statement that all Muslims should go to Pakistan.
I apologise to you and other journalists as well. I say with challenge that first watch the full video and then only ask the question. If you have not seen the entire video then write my version. I had stated that a wind was blowing with the country and outside to stop Modi wave. There ae countries that want to prevent Modi from becoming India’s Prime Minister and Pakistan is one of them, which is indulging in nefarious activities to prevent Modi from becoming prime minister of India. There are some people in India for whom Pakistan is no less than Mecca and Medina and such people also want to prevent Modi from becoming India’s prime minister. Place for such people should not be in India, but in Pakistan. I have accused none in this way and that those who will not vote, ought to go to Pakistan.
The whole statement was twisted in such a manner that indicated that if the country’s Muslims having no belief in this ideology should go to Pakistan.
I am throwing a challenge and I challenge you also to see my statement and tell me if I am wrong. Do I need to offer clarification to each and every one who presented my statement in a distorted manner in the media? I am giving my clarification to you as well and don’t know whether you will write it or not.
You say time and again that patience of the Hindus is getting exhausted and what does that mean?
You people take out the wrong meaning of the right word. I cannot argue with you, because you have a mentality that if someone speaks in favour of the Hindus then he becomes a communalist. And if he speaks in favour of the Muslims then he becomes a secularist. I have no antidote to this malady.
Many a times, your statements refer to polygamy among the Muslims and that they produce more children. So, the split in the society starts from here.
I repeat it again that you facilitate the division. Journalists like you do it, whose thinking is preoccupied with the notion that the Hindus are a second-class citizen and it is their duty to endure everything. It is their duty to follow secularism.
The manner in which there are discussions about Ram Temple these days and the issue is in the Supreme Court for hearing, what do you want and what is your blueprint for it?
Construction of the temple the sooner the better.
Temple construction with the help of law or according to the public opinion?
Construction of the temple the sooner the better
Before elections or after elections?
Construction of the temple, the sooner the better.
Will the government bring an Ordinance?
Construction of the temple the sooner the better, people hope that the Temple of Lord Ram would be constructed soon. The people know that a grand temple of Lord Ram could not be built despite so many years after country’s independence. It is a betrayal by the Congress. If Nehru had built the temple at that time then there would not have been such a misery as is today.
There is a nominated member who has said that he will introduce a Private Members’ Bill in the upcoming session of the Parliament.
It is very good. I congratulate Rakesh Sinha, who has talked about bringing Private member’s bill and he will bring it. He has complete knowledge of Sanatan system and religion. He will place it before the nation and the entire nation will witness as to who is in favour of Lord Ram, who is in favour of construction of the Ram temple? Do the 120 million devotees of Lord Ram not have that much authority to have grand temple of Lord ram in India?
Would you bring legislation in the upcoming session of the Parliament?
Now let’s see, which way the wind blows.
The matter is in the court take a long time and there is no religious suit in the court. There is only a title suit in the court.
The public only wanted the court to resume day-to-day hearings in the case.
Is this the most important issue before the country?
Yes, it is. Was the issue of Yaqub Memon the biggest issue before the country?
Is corruption in the CBI not an issue?
The temple issue is most important. Is the issue of the faith of 1.25 billion people not an issue?
Is the Supreme Court not doing justice to this issue?
Whether the court doing justice or injustice is being watched by the people. The people are hopeful that justice will be done. Speedy hearing is not taking place. Therefore, there is resentment and disappointment in their minds as things are not happening according to their expectations.
Is there a date being fixed by the party or the Sangh?
I do not know, it would have been better if you could have asked the Party President.
What will be the issue in the forthcoming elections?
Development.
Development is good to talk about, but elections are not won the plank of development.
I don’t know, it is up to the people that on which issue they would prefer to vote.
Did Modi get elected on the plank of development?
Of course, he established himself as a development man throughout the country.
Did he win on the anti-corruption wave?
Corruption and development were both issues. Modi had an image of a chief minister of a state who had an image of not compromising with corruption nor allowing the pace of development to slowdown. Therefore, corruption was also an issue along with development.
During your recent tour of West Bengal, you had raised the issue of Mathua. Do you think that the West Bengal government has suppressed this segment of the societyand injustice is being meted out to them?
Look, it seems as if the Hindus do not have the right to religious faith in West Bengal. Sometimes people ae subjected to blows by lathis on the occasion of Ramanavami, shots are fired, people ae implicated in false cases. Doors of the court have to be knocked for the immersion of the idols of Goddess Durga. The people of Mathuya Samaj came to India in 1947. Now the Government of India has enacted an act that allows Hindus coming from other countries or either displaced to settle in India and not to be treated as intruders and they will have equal rights. The people of Mathuya Samaj are there since the days of the Partition of Independence of India. No body can harm the interests of the members of the Mathuya Samaj as long as the Bhartiya Janata Party is in power. They cannot be deported out of West Bengal. NRC is for those who fall under the purview of the NRC and Mathuya Samaj does not come under the purview of the NRC.
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