Our vote base intact: Kharge

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Veteran Congress leader and Union labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge is a happy man. His stock has been rising ever since he and other Congress leaders from Karnataka at the Centre succeeded in getting the UPA government table a Constitutional amendment bill granting special status to Hyderabad-Karnataka.

Congress workers and MLAs are confident that if they campaign on this point well, the party will be able to win more than 25 of the 40 seats in the six districts which are part of the H-K region. In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, Mr Kharge spoke about many issues including state politics. Excerpts:

* Your struggle to secure special status for Hyderabad-Karnataka has been realised to some extent. Union home minister, Sushil Kumar Shindhe has tabled the Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament. What is the next step?
I was not the only one to fight for this. There were many others. The bill is a property of the House now and from that perspective, our job is over. The Business Advisory Committee has to decide when to take it up. We still have a long way to go to complete the process. Parliament will have to pass the bill with a two third majority since this is a Constitutional amendment bill. I hope, our local BJP leaders will exert pressure on their central leaders to get the required support so that parliament passes the bill. Then the bill has to be passed by more than half the states. Once the process is completed, the Karnataka government can enact laws providing special benefits to Hyderabad-Karnataka.

* Can you elaborate on the benefits?
Without the constitutional amendment, any attempt to give reservation to H-K region would be deemed unconstitional. After the amendment, the state can establish a separate development board; make provisions to provide special grants for the development of the region; introduce reservation in public (government) employment by constituting a local cadre and provide for reservation in educational vocational training institutions for students from the region.

* Many people including a few Congress MLAs from the region claim it will help the Congress in the next elections. It can help you too. Comment.
Our intention is to bring the region on par with other parts of the state. During the NDA regime, the request for granting special status was shot down and later, even during the tenure of UPA-I, the petition was not entertained on the ground that it would open a Pandora’s box. Fortunately, I got an opportunity to work at the Centre. After I became minister, I was able to follow up on the issue regularly. It may help us in elections, that is a different issue. But, the Karnataka government should complement our efforts by expediting pending works.

* Moving onto politics, Congress leaders assert that you are making a comeback by contesting the forthcoming assembly elections. What are your future plans?
I am a loyal party worker, I cannot and will not take a decision on my own. I was the Congress Legislature Party (CLP)) leader when the party directed me to contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2009. The central leadership will take a decision on these issues. No one should think of becoming CM at this juncture. The responsibility is to bring the party to power. Then, the high command will consult party MLAs and select a new CM.

* How was the experience in Delhi? Will it help you in shaping your future?
Karnataka politics is like a small lake, Delhi is a sea. There are a lot of opportunities there. If you are a committed person, there is lot of scope for work. Our leaders recognise hard-working people. In the last three-and-a-half years, I tried to make the labour department more relevant.

* Coming back to state politics, the party state unit seems to be in disarray. What is your assessment?
The party might have experienced minor hiccups, but it has overcome major problems. State unit president Dr G. Parameshwar and the two opposition leaders, Siddaramaiah and S.R. Patil have been touring the state extensively. People are calling on them to witness their plight and fight for them. We have brought more than Rs 10,000 crore to Karnataka from the Centre. But we do not go round the state boasting of our work. Our party leaders are mature and do not react to every issue to gain political mileage. Because, we are accountable, unlike BJP leaders, we cannot get away by making flimsy statements. People are observing us all the time.

* You say everything is fine in the Congress. But the defeat of Iqbal Ahmad Saradagi during the Legislative Council polls proves this is not true. Comment.
Yes, it is a black spot. If something like this had happened in a general election, we could have blamed the people. Here, the voters were MLAs from our party. I was pained over the development. I think, all of us should demonstrate more commitment to the party and should not entertain vested interests.

* The general perception is that Vokkaligas are with JD(S) and Lingayats with BJP. Many sections from the Scheduled Castes have moved away from the Congress. Who is with the Congress now?
Mr Deve Gowda tried to consolidate the Vokkaligas and Mr Yeddyurappa did the same with the Lingayats. But, they did not succeed. If you see the voting percentage of the Congress in the last assembly elections, you will realize this. The Congress got one per cent more votes than BJP. As many as 35 VIP candidates from our party lost the election by a margin of less than 500 votes and 11 of them lost by less than 100 votes. Therefore I do not agree with the view that communities have deserted us. Our vote base is intact.

* BJP leaders say that they have an advantage because the Congress is in distress.
The BJP is in the habit of exaggerating things. There is a saying in Urdu, Cheel Udi to Bhainsa Udi (When an eagle flies, people exaggerate and say a buffalo flew). In spite of campaigning on the betrayal factor (involving the JD-S), the BJP got only 110 seats in 2008. How can they think of getting a majority now after being embroiled in so many scams? They exposed themselves during the four and a half years in governance. People are upset with them and they will fail miserably in the next election.