Holding LS and assembly polls together is a great idea
BHOPAL : Union minister for Panchayat and rural development and chairman of the BJP’s state election management committee Narendra Singh Tomar maintains that everyone should keep patience on the SC-ST Act. Tomar in an interview with Free Press spoke on several issues including the ensuing assembly polls. Excerpts:
FP: How the BJP is bracing up for the election?
Tomar: The BJP is a political party which constantly works. The preparations for the assembly polls are underway. The party workers have been assigned responsibilities, and they are working.
FP: Why you could not give time to the state? Was it because of your busy schedule in Delhi?
Tomar: It is true that the schedule was tight due to double responsibility. The parliament session was also going on. I have been devoting full time to the state for the past one week and will now stay here most of the time.
FP: Will the resentment at amendment to the ordinance related to the SC-ST Act after SC’s verdict affect the party’s prospects?
Tomar: It is a sensitive issue. All should have patience on such issues. Patience brings good results.
FP: Why questions have been raised on Rafael deal?
Tomar: Congress leaders feel that other people might be doing the same thing as they did when in power. Not a single allegation was levelled against the Modi government in four years. This has made the Congress frustrated. So, they are levelling wild allegations.
FP: Why the Central Government is not replying to the questions raised by the Congress on Rafael?
Tomar: Union finance minister and defence minister have already given statements on the issue. The Congress is tarnishing the image of the country by spreading lies. This also shows the level the party has stooped to.
FP: Is it possible to conduct assembly and Lok Sabha elections together?
Tomar: Conducting the Lok Sabha and the assembly polls together is a great idea. It is good if both the elections are held together. Nothing can be said what will happen, but the demand was there when the BJP was in opposition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too wishes it. But it is a matter on which any decision can be taken only after all political parties agree.
FP: Will you come back in state politics?
Tomar: I have always done any work assigned by the party. As of now, we are working for Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan so that he may return to power.
FP: Do you find any difference between the situation in this year and the one that prevailed in the last election?
Tomar: It is because of public welfare schemes of the Chief Minister that his Jan Ashirwaad Yatra is getting more support than it got before previous elections. The acceptability of Chouhan in the state and Modi at the centre has increased.
FP: What do you expect from the upcoming elections?
Tomar: All political parties apply their full might in elections, but Modi will come at the centre and Shivraj will form government in the state. Public support is with us.