'Congress stands on the wrong side of issues that matter to India': Milind Deora

My first guest is the Rajya Sabha MP of the Shiv Sena. That’s the Shiv Sena Shinde group, Milind Deora, who’s on the road joining me at the moment. Milind Deora, Appreciate your joining us. I have before me an ad which your Mahayuti has put out in all the Mumbai papers. Tumcha matani Kuthe jallosh vaila hawa a bhartat Ki Pakistan, effectively saying your vote. Do you want it to lead to celebrations in Pakistan or India? Is this the kind of campaign? Is this the kind of new India campaign that you want to build, Milind Deora? OK, Well, firstly, thank you for having me. You’re right. I am on the road on a very important infrastructure project in Mumbai city. My network may be sporadic. So please, I would request you not to interrupt me and to allow me to speak. In your opening statements, you said that the NDA spoke about a campaign of Vixit Bharat. Let me ask you a question. Is national security not essential and an integral element of taking India to the next stage? And to equate what is happening between India and its hostile neighbors with the Hindu Muslim narrative. Rajdeep is extremely unfortunate. For the media or for the opposition. No, no. Please tell me what Mr. Milind Deora Sean of the Sophistic. Tell me what does this ad mean? Are you telling me your former party is pro Pakistan and anti Hindu? I want a state answer. What is this ad? This ad is fear mongering. Isn’t it that if I vote for the Congress party and be pro Pakistan? I told you not to interrupt me. No, no. I am asking you a state question. I will answer your question. Please do. There is. There is over time, and I say unfortunately because I was a member of that party and I tried to improve things from within. A growing perception that Congress stands on the wrong side of issues that matter to India. You yourself said that Congress isn’t helping its case. Let me give you a few examples. I was an MP from South Mumbai in 2008. When 2611 happened here, when I saw the anguish that suffering the death, the terror that people had to endure in this constituency, I worked very closely with Doctor Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister at the time and the intention of the Government of India, the law enforcement agencies was to tell the world, the United Nations, that Pakistan is behind this. By the way, Pakistan themselves admitted that 2611 was their own doing. We caught Ajmal Kasab. He was tried in a court of law and he was sentenced to death. What was a statement by Congress leaders? Soon after that terror attack, Congress leaders released a book which diverted attention away from Pakistan and blamed one particular religion for that terror attack. They blame the Hindu community for that terror attack who made it a Hindu Muslim issue in the 1st place. Why were Congress leaders at the time when the country and their own government attacking Pakistan, trying to hold them accountable internationally? Sir, you are you are Mr. Deora. You are in the Congress at the time. Mr. Deora, you are the South Mumbai MP at the time. Are you saying the individual opinions of a few Congress leaders attending a book release meant that the Congress was backing Pakistan? And if it was so, what did you do about it? What did you do about it? Sir, let me let me complete what I did. I spoke internally within internal forums. What did you do about it as a journalist? Did you raise questions? Of course we did. You ask those people, did you ask those people that it was a wrong statement for them to make? We raised question with the likes of BP dancing at the time, Sir. I’ve been very clear about it, Sir. I want to tell you one thing, Sir, just for your knowledge, a college friend of mine was with Heman Karkare. He was another top cop. So Kante was there, was also shot dead. So we know friends, not friends. This one who died. So I’m not going to blame. I’m the last person who’s going to give Pakistan a clean chit on 26. I can tell you something. I can tell you something that my father and I, who have represented Mumbai for the last 40-5 years, we were both appalled at that book launch. We were appalled at that release. I know what the Prime Minister of the at the time, what his views on that were. That’s another issue. Maybe I’ll leave that for my memoirs whenever that’s released a few days ago. Let me complete a few days ago, the leader of opposition of the Maharashtra Assembly, a congressman, made a statement saying that sorry, I got a call. He made a statement saying that the bullet that killed Hemant Karkare, who’s a martyr who was martyred on 2611 in my constituency, was not a Pakistani bullet but a bullet again of RSS and of the Hindu community. So who is making this issue about India and Pakistan, about Hindu and Muslims #1, #2? Let me make a larger point. This is for the Congress to reflect on. This is something that people like us tried to change within the party. I’ll give you another third smaller example. When the Galvan conflict was underway and India was battling China and we were doing so diplomatically, we were holding our ground at the time in US. It was a small but a significant move. TikTok which is an app which young people use. Its one of the most popular apps in the world. India was the first country to ban TikTok for security reasons, for economic reasons. I welcomed that ban at the time saying its good for India. We must come together regardless of which party were from. We must support the government of the day when a neighbor is being hostile towards us. The Congress at the time trolled me. They trolled the government saying that what kind of random thing is this banning TikTok its insignificant. Why should we do that when its a Chinese owned app Today by the way the world over including the United States. Last week the Federal Communications Commission of the US which is like the IT Ministry of the United States, the Chairman of the FCC like the IT Minister of the America of America made a statement saying we are following Indias example when analyzing and assessing how to ban TikTok. Obviously it will raise the issue and raise the debate and a doubt in peoples minds as to why is it that a party that has a great legacy, mind you is suddenly now on the wrong side of India when a neighbor is being hostile towards India and into the Indian Government. Indian government mind you Rajeev Sardesai transcends which party is in power. Indian government transcends Prime Minister. Indian governments transcends politics. I take your point. But this, Mr. Devra in conclusion, but this ad certainly doesn’t. The point I am making, Mr. Devra, your party seems to have decided in Maharashtra, we have to go back to Hindu, Muslim politics. You’re telling me that there is no Hindu, Muslim angle. But when you say tumcha matani kuthe jaloshwaila hawa, that’s like suggesting that if the opposition wins, there will be crackers in Pakistan. Many will say actually that quite the contrary, there will be those on the other side who might welcome even Mr. Nobody coming back. So I mean, is this the kind of campaign you want to win an election on, is all I’m asking. OK, let me ask you now, have you asked the Congress party, is this the kind of campaign they want to an election win election on? And last the Leader of Opposition? No, no. When the leader of opposition of the Congress for no reason, nobody is being provoked or prompted to do this. When the Leader of opposition, a man who holds a constitutional post of the Maharashtra Assembly, makes a statement that 2611 was not the doing of Pakistan, what the doing of a Hindu group is that not provocative? Is that not bringing in the debate, lowering the debate and giving Pakistan a clean chit? Naturally, if a party or if individuals and responsible individuals in that party are trying to give Pakistan a clean chit on the eve of elections, doesn’t it raise questions? Doesn’t it bother you as a Mumbaikar it does. And the state, But the statements of an individual, a state, even if an individual did not always reflect that of his party. I’m sure you know that as someone who’s been in the Congress for so many years rajdeep, even if I was in the Congress, I would have been appalled at that statement as I was appalled after 2611 when leaders released the book trying to give a clean share to Pakistan. These are issues which matter in any election. By the way. These are not fringe issues. These are issues that matter. National security is an important issue for India to grow up economically. Having the right foreign policy, having the right national security policy is absolutely critical for our country to go forward. OK, let me leave it there. Let me leave it there. Political party that any political party that or any leader that is making a statement that is giving our enemies a clean chit will naturally be questioned in the due course of a campaign. How can you not expect that to happen? What should the what should the What should the government say? Well done to the leader of opposition, well done to others. And that you’re supporting China and Pakistan. We should not make this an issue. Which country would that be the case in any country in the world. I’m sorry to correct you, but any country in the world, the politicians, during an election, the media would naturally make that an electoral issue. It would be a massive national security issue, which has massive ramifications on economic growth and prosperity, on our security, on our safety. So naturally, this is something which the government of the day, in response to what opposition leaders are saying, will have to make this an issue. OK, I’m going to leave it there. Milind Deora, let me leave it there. You’re on the road. You’ve made your points and you’ve told us, you’ve told us where you stand. I appreciate, I appreciate you joining us. Milind Deora joining us there. Saying this is natural for a political party to respond to what the opposition has said or not said.