The issue I want to put before you concerns the unity and integrity of India. It would not be appropriate if a government incapable of preserving the strength of India came to power. Apart from development, the country must also deal with the challenges of terrorism and sectarianism. If a government isn’t ready to take on the threat of terrorism, then it has no right to even contest these elections.
We must ponder upon two pressing issues – terrorism and communal sectarianism. Rashtriya Morcha Janata Dal is not ready to combat terrorism. It has clearly portrayed this through its election manifesto – which spoke a lot about Punjab but made no mention of terrorism.
You must ask them if they don’t speak up because they’re afraid of terrorism, or because they have an agreement with it. If they are scared, nervous and don’t have courage, how exactly would they eradicate terrorism from India? If there is an agreement, then the matter is even more serious.
There is a frontal organisation of Janata Dal in Punjab – Bharat Mukti Morcha. They started by helping the assassins of Indira Gandhi, then assisted the anti-national forces that wanted to separate Punjab. After that, they supported the Anandpur proposal.
Moreover, fanatic people are competing from almost every seat in the state – including terrorists from two or three seats. But no one is standing against the leader of Janata Dal. So you must ask if they are afraid of terrorism, if they have compromised, or if they are so afraid that they have made a compromise.
You must think carefully before arriving at a decision. What is their position on communalism? Their leaders tried to connect with BJP and Shiv Sena for four to five months because they sought Hindu votes. But as soon as the Prime Minister of Pakistan issued her statement, they distanced themselves from the BJP in Mathura, as they were now fishing for Muslim votes.
They’re fighting with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and seeking support from sectarian forces in Delhi. How can those who have completely compromised their principles for power compete with sectarianism and communalism?
Today Congress stands very clearly against sectarianism. Congress will not make any compromise with sectarian forces, whether we win or lose the election. It’s a matter of our principles and we are not ready to compromise on them.
One more thing I want to talk about is Babri Masjid and Ramjanmabhoomi. Many rumours have been spread, many lies have been spread.
Also read: Rajendra Prasad’s Somnath temple inauguration speech that AIR ‘blacked out’ in 1951
Some rumours have been spread here, while others have been propagated by foreign politicians and radio channels. But the truth is that nothing has been done on the land of Babri Masjid. The Congress government has strictly followed the court’s instructions. If the court ordered work to be done, then the Congress government got it done. If the court asked for some work to not be done, then the Congress government ensured that it wasn’t. And this is how it will remain in the future. We will neither help this side nor that. Similarly, we will neither oppose this side nor that. We will proceed exactly how the court wants us to.
The big question left is that of development. There have been very rapid developments in Uttar Pradesh. Industries worth an estimated Rs 15,000 crore have been set up very recently.
Uttar Pradesh will progress very fast due to this. The agricultural sector of Uttar Pradesh has progressed very rapidly in these years, too. For the first time, we are seeing that farmers of Eastern Uttar Pradesh can sell their produce. For the first time, we are seeing that Uttar Pradesh has surplus food grains. We would like to strengthen it further and take it forward.
But our biggest success has been in eradicating poverty. We ran various types of programmes for Harijans and tribals, be it reservation, be it increasing reservation or filling reserved seats, be it poverty alleviation or be it constructing houses. We have run special programmes for backward classes too. But to be honest, we have focused most of our efforts on women.
We have done a lot for the youth as well. Whatever we have done to employ youth, to provide education to them, to attract them into politics, has never been done before.
But the biggest steps that we were going to take for development, for the youth, for women, for the entire country, were the Panchayat and Municipality bills.
I have talked about these bills in great detail earlier. I will give you an example, told to me when I went to Bharatpur for this tour. There is a small village in Bharatpur district that is behind the hills. It takes a lot of winding turns to reach the village. The villagers wanted the mountains to be cut a little bit so that this road could be shortened.
The Rajasthan government started working on this. Engineers were sent, employees were sent, jeeps ran up and down, measurements were taken, estimates were made, reports were made, and after everything, it was decided that it would cost Rs 7 lakh to complete the task. The government thought that this work was too small for an expenditure of Rs 7 lakh and that there were no significant benefits either. The file was closed and locked away in a drawer. The expenditure incurred in all this pomp and show, in running the jeep, in measuring and weighing, was wasted.
The work stopped there and the villagers did not get the road. When we started the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, where we handed over work to villagers, they insisted on utilising the scheme to cut the mountain. And the mountain, for which files were pushed around for months, was cut in a matter of weeks. But more importantly, since the villagers cut it themselves, the task was accomplished in Rs 50,000 as opposed to the government’s estimated Rs 7 lakh.
Now if development work was done this way, imagine how fast it would have been. Your resources would not have been wasted. But Janata Dal, BJP, CPM, and CPI made sure our bills weren’t passed in the Rajya Sabha. This is why we have come before you today. We want strength from you so that we can bring back these two bills, pass them in the Lok Sabha, pass them in the Rajya Sabha, and put power in your hands. But for this, we need strength in both Houses. So we hope that you will strengthen us in both places this election.
When you go to vote, think about these issues a little. Think about who can preserve the unity and integrity of the country, and who can strengthen it.
You think about who can fight terrorism and who is not ready to compromise with terrorism. Think about who can fight sectarianism, who isn’t ready to make a deal with sectarian forces. Think about who can provide a stable government – for Uttar Pradesh and India.
Think about who can give you your rights and your power – for development and for progress. If you think a little, one thing will become clear. Only Congress can do these things. We have full faith in you. I know that the people of Uttar Pradesh put patriotism first and will never allow such parties to move forward. Parties that are ready to change their programmes at the behest of foreign Prime Ministers, ready to give up their principles when the Prime Minister of Pakistan says something.
On election day on the 22nd and 24th [of November], remember that you have to vote for Congress.
Just raise your hands and tell me who will make Congress win and who will vote for Congress. Say loudly with me – Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
This is part of ThePrint’s Great Speeches series. It features speeches and debates that shaped modern India.
A previous version of this article said Ayodhya instead of Lucknow in the headline. The article has been updated to reflect the change.