RSS has changed its pants, not its mindset: Yashwant Sinha

Sitting in his study, surrounded by books and under the watchful gaze of JP, Yashwant Sinha, who was the Union Finance Minister twice and the External Affairs Minister once, appears to be a lonely man in his party, the BJP. But, this octogenarian, who launched the National Forum for like-minded leaders unhappy about the present state of affairs in the country to come together, believes that the current situation in the BJP is fleeting. Sinha, who was a career bureaucrat, was inspired by Jayaprakash Narayan’s socialist movement of the mid-seventies. He eventually joined politics in 1984 as a member of the Janata Party, after quitting the Indian Administrative Service.

In an interview with National Herald, Sinha questions the RSS brand of nationalism and asks why the Congress has not been fulfilling its role as a responsible opposition party.

Q. You are one of the most senior leaders in the BJP, you have handled key portfolios in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Then, why do you criticise your own party? What are your grievances against those in power?

A. We came to power in 2014 because of promises we made in our manifesto. I was a member of the manifesto committee and let me tell you that every promise we made was considered, discussed, and then included. It was not on a whim that we included something in the manifesto.

We knew that we were going to form the government. And therefore, it assumed more seriousness. Narendra Modi was announced as the Prime Ministerial candidate and he analysed the manifesto personally too. So, I believed that his going through the manifesto seriously was to ensure that we were making promises which could be implemented.

It was not a process alienated from him, as he was the final approver of the draft of the manifesto. Three years have passed and promises made to the people have not been implemented yet. I have started getting the sinking feeling that we will not be adhering to the promises made in the manifesto. And that most of it was only talk. Then I felt that I should bring it to the notice of the leadership of the party, including Mr Modi himself.

Media asks why I have not raised these issues at the party forum. The only party forum of which I am a member is the National Executive. I have been told that no worthwhile discussion takes place there as well. The leadership talks to members and the members rarely get an opportunity to voice their views.

Q. You have criticised Modi and his government’s policies; you formed the National Forum. You have been participating in rallies organised against the BJP government. So, is this the only way you can be heard?

A. It is not me alone in the party. I find that a number of the people who are considered senior in the party such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi have also been cast aside. It means that those in power believe that they no longer need our experience or advice. Now, many people, on social media especially, think that I am looking for a job and one senior minister said that I am a job applicant and a job seeker. I can only look at them with sympathy. There is nothing to suggest that I have been looking for a post. The important thing is that we are people with experience.

Who will remember, other than Advaniji and I, what had happened when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister for six years? Advani ji and I are the only members of the Cabinet Committee on Security who are still around as George and Atal are not well. We know what happened when we dealt with Pakistan. We know what was the thinking then on other important issues.

Governments are continuous institutions. You may have heard the saying ‘The King is dead, long live the King’. So, the state never dies. It is a continuous process. There are certain conventions which must always be upheld.

I am not the only one who is being treated this way. Some have accepted their situation and maybe they do not want to speak about it. But, I am aware of many within the party who are active or will remain active in the future too, because they are still young. These people are dismayed with the government and the party and the way both are conducting their affairs.

Q. What is your plan in national politics?

A. We founded National Forum with the objective to raise the real issues ignored by other political parties. A lot of people have expressed their wish to join our forum. But, it will be a non-political entity. It is a mass-movement where you do not need to take any membership. We have identified some of the issues and with these issues we will go to the people of this country.

Q. The PM had said in Parliament that had Sardar Patel been the first PM of the country, entire Kashmir would have been ours. What is your understanding of the Kashmir issue? I am asking this question because you had visited the Valley to understand the situation on the ground.

A. Those who know the history or understand the issue would agree that what PM Modi had said in Parliament is not true. Those who know the history would acknowledge that (in pursuit of peace) Patel was even ready to handover entire Kashmir to Pakistan in lieu of East Bangladesh.

Sudheendra Kulkarni, who was political advisor to former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later to Advaniji, has written an article in which he has mentioned all these facts.

The Indian Express published an article on February 12 in which similar views were expressed. Patel had denied any conflict with Nehru on many occasions. What Modiji has said about Kashmir in Parliament is factually as incorrect as is him saying that Taxila (also known as Takshashila) was in Bihar. (Modi had in the run up to the 2014 election stated that Taxila, which is in Pakistan, was in Bihar.)

Q. The RSS, known as the paternal organisation of the BJP, claims to be a nationalist cultural organisation but there are numerous examples which suggest that the RSS dictates the politics of the BJP. What role of the RSS do you see in society or in politics?

A. I do not work closely with the RSS. I have never been an RSS Swayamsevak. When I joined BJP in 1993, people asked me the same question about the RSS. That time too I had clarified that I am going to be a member of the BJP, a political organisation, and not the RSS. There are many in the government and in the party, who enjoy close bonding with the RSS, but not me.

RSS claims to be a hard core nationalist organisation, which is not a bad thing in my opinion. But my experience with the RSS suggests that their opinions on many issues are very regressive and redundant.

There were occasions when an RSS activist (who was a clerk in the electricity department of Jharkhand government) would deliver a bauddhik lecture on the economy in front of me when I was the Finance Minister of the country. Being a member of the ruling party, I had to listen to him. Similarly, when I was the Foreign Minister, an RSS activist gave a lecture on foreign policy in front of me.

My impression of the RSS is that many of them (RSS) are still living in a bygone era. It will not come again. With time they have changed their uniform – half pants to full pants — but not their thoughts.

Q. There is a section in society which believes that the RSS brand of nationalism is not good for the country because it promotes hatred. What do you think?

A. What is being done in the name of nationalism is not acceptable. Generally, there is an atmosphere of intolerance in our society. I would not comment whether this government promotes such criminal elements, but it is also true that such elements think that there is a conducive atmosphere for them to flourish in society today. If a government fails to implement law and order, it means it has failed its basic duty. You can say that economic policies or foreign policies of a government are not good but if law and order is not good, it is a reason to worry. It will take a lot of time to restore people’s faith in law enforcement agencies.

This is the first part of the interview. The final part will be published tomorrow