COURTESY HT JAN 16

We are not in the game of greed for power’

SANJEEV VERMA/HT FILE PHOTO
Hitender Rao

hrao@hindustantimes.com

CHANDIGARH : Haryana Congress president Kumari Selja on Friday said that she sincerely hopes that Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) MLAs and independents supporting the BJP-led Haryana government will vote against the government in the state assembly. In an interview, the former Union minister said that many of these MLAs have openly opposed the three farm laws and people hope that they will support the no-confidence motion in the assembly as well. Excerpts:

What’s your reading of the farmers versus government standoff over the farm laws?

The government has led the farmers up the garden path. The patience of the farmers is laudable. They have maintained peace even when the central government has refused to listen to their pain or pay heed to their demands. The government has decided to go ahead with the three farm laws and this will only lead to cartelisation. These laws only favour big business houses and not the farming community.

Assuming you were to take a decision to resolve the standoff and pacify the protesting farmers, what would’ve been your action plan?

My action plan would have been to repeal the three laws. The Congress would have never enacted such anti-farmer legislations. We listen to the people and give them what they want. Decisions taken by the BJP-led NDA government always work to the advantage of big business houses. In fact, their actions are autocratic rather than democratic.

A number of JJP MLAs and independents supporting the state government have spoken against the three farm laws. Do you think they will vote against the state government in case there’s a trust vote in the assembly?

We would urge them to listen to their conscience and the woes of the farmers. I hope they will vote against the government in the assembly.

Does the Congress see any hope of forming government with the support of disgruntled MLAs?

We are not in the game of greed for power. But there can never be a vacuum in the political space. However, whatever happens has to happen in tune with the Constitution. Whenever a situation arises, the Congress will act as per the Constitution.

Who is the bigger loser in the entire episode – the BJP or the JJP?

Unfortunately, the kisan and mazdoor are the biggest loser during the BJP-JJP rule. This is an opportunistic alliance formed merely to grab power. The JJP contested the assembly elections against the BJP but in their hunger for power, the two came together. People will hold them accountable for their actions. They are already facing opposition from the public across state. People will extract the price from them during elections. Any government that does not have its ears to the ground and is insensitive towards people’s concerns will face the consequences