Naheed Ataulla

Bengaluru, 17 Oct

Nine-time legislator from Haliyal in Uttar Kannada district, Congress veteran RV Deshpande stirred a controversy by mocking his party government's five guarantees recently, saying that they are women-oriented and men have been left in the lurch. A day later, he clarified that his remarks were said in jest and he appreciates the work done by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. 

In an interview with Salar Upclose, Deshpande, who has worked with eight chief ministers, shares his views on the government's performance, the recommendations made by him as chairman of the Karnataka Administrative Reforms and speculation over the change of chief ministership.

1. Have the Congress government guarantees benefited only the women and worsened the situation of men, as this was the statement which you reportedly made at an event recently?

I have not made any statement against anybody or the government.

2. Your statement, which you clarified the next day, was that under the guarantees, buses are full of women, they are visiting temples and have Rs 2,000 in hand.

I was talking about how women are empowered now. In the olden days, a woman never stepped out of the house including in big families like ours and they had a limited role to play. Today women have become very active and in some areas they are dominating the men. The Congress party had promised giving Rs 2,000 to the women and the guarantees have focused on them, except the Yuva Nidhi scheme. For the first time, a party like the Congress has focused on women. While the Bharatiya Janata Party speaks a lot, it has done nothing. There's no controversy in my statements.

3.Why is it that most of your statements land you in trouble? In September,  a woman journalist had highlighted the problems faced by pregnant women due to the delay in setting up a speciality hospital in Joida in Uttar Kannada district. To this you said that if she has to deliver, you will get it done in your Haliyal constituency.

I had gone to give bagina (offering pooja to a dam when it's full) to Ganeshgudi dam (across Kali river in Uttara Kannada district) and when I was giving it, I called the woman journalist as she is a photographer. I did not speak anything and went to the Inspection Bungalow soon after. I was hardly there for five to 10 minutes. Something which was not discussed was reported. I refuted reports about me having said it. Now whatever I am saying is being recorded. But when there's a situation where in good faith I would have said something on or off the record, it's made into an issue. After all, trust is also important.

4.As a senior Congress leader, do you think the Congress guarantees help the party return to power in 2023 or was the anti-incumbency of the BJP government adequate?

To be honest, these guarantees have 100 per cent helped and now many other political parties have also started following it, under different names.

These guarantees have really paid rich dividends to the Congress party. No doubt our manifesto and our commitments were there along with good governance from 2013 to 2018. 

5. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be completing two-and-a-half years in November, how do you rate the performance of his governance and government? Was his 2013-2018 tenure as CM better or this one?

Siddaramaiah is a very seasoned leader and he knows his job well. He was the CM for five years earlier and therefore it's easier for him now to deal with any situation than during his earlier tenure. No doubt his tenure from 2013 to 2018 was excellent. He is definitely doing a good job even now. What happens is when one is doing good work, expectations from that person also go up.

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also has completed three terms, but he doesn't seem to be facing issues that Siddaramaiah is facing now in the party.

Siddaramaiah is also not facing any problems within the Congress party. But the Opposition parties rake up some issues every day.

7. Have the corruption charges, internal bickerings in the party, confusion over the ongoing socio-educational survey and speculation over a change of chief minister impacted the party's image?

No. There is no speculation that Siddaramaiah will be changed or that somebody else will come. Regarding the government, it's functioning. The government is pro-poor, pro-women and pro-development. People's expectations are high today and sometimes it is difficult for any government to meet the expectations. It's a smooth running government without any hurdles.

8. So, there will be no change of leadership and Siddaramaiah will complete his full term of five years?

I made this statement two months ago that Siddaramaiah will complete his full term. The Congress legislature party has elected Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister and when we elected him, there was no time frame that he will be CM only for two years or two-and-a-half years. I don't think there is any talk about this in the Congress high command also.   

9.You are debunking the speculations about any agreement over power sharing? 

The high command has not discussed the issue of leadership change with the legislators' or anybody else. I was not a party to all these things. But what you read or I read in the media is all that I know. The speculation, with all due respect to the media, is their creation. From where they get the news, don't ask me.

10. In case there is a change of leadership, you had talked of being tired of ministership since you have served as industries minister for 13 years and now it's time you became the CM. If there is a vacancy will you also throw your hat into the ring?

This is a hypothetical question. It will depend upon the situation. Left to me I don't find any change happening and I don't think the question will arise for a leader to be brought in place of Siddaramaiah. 

11.What is your opinion on IT minister Priyank Kharge's  proposal to the State government to ban the Rashtriya  Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) from using  government spaces for their activities?

I still don't understand what the RSS is doing in common places. If you want to use government premises, permission has to be taken. All these days they might have been taking permission but now the issue is about banning such activities. The government has to reconsider its decision as they would have charged a fee for giving the permission.

12. With regard to the ongoing socio-educational survey and its confusion, was another social survey required though the earlier one's data was outdated?

The survey is being done to update the records. The survey done earlier, we don't know whether it will stand the test of time. What I found was the questions asked could have been simple. They came to my house in Haliyal and there were some personal questions which are difficult to answer such as details about bank accounts and jewellery one has.

13. As chairman of the Karnataka State Administrative Reforms Commission, you submitted a report and there were 189 recommendations. One of the major ones was setting up a temple task committee which could manage crowd control, distribution of prasad and emergency responses. Have those recommendations been implemented?

Eight reports have been submitted to the Chief Minister and the Cabinet accepted many recommendations. The ninth report is also ready. In the next three or four days, the CM has given us time to submit it. (The ninth report was submitted to the government on Thursday after this interview).

14. You joined the Congress in 1999 and you have been seeing the Congress high command since then. Has the Congress high command, which was strong, becoming weaker now?

I was in the Congress from 1971 and later joined the Janata Party. The high command has never been weak. Today also it is strong and respected and ultimately its decisions when it comes to leadership matters. Observers are sent to elicit feedback and whatever opinion comes from the high command is implemented by the legislature party.

15. Who makes a better leader, according to you, Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi?

Rahul Gandhi has now been focused as a leader. He's a very nice person. I know him well. He has come to my constituency, my institute and is very helpful. He is a nice human being, who wants to do a lot of good. Priyanka is also very active. Ultimately, Rahul Gandhi is becoming more important in the party as party leader Sonia Gandhi is not as active as she was earlier.  

If there is a cabinet reshuffle, are you an aspirant for a berth?

It all depends upon the high command and the chief minister. I am a disciplined soldier of the party and I have been in responsible positions as KPCC president. I have to function myself in a disciplined way.