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The Rediff Interview/Naresh Aggarwal

'Gupta could not give the government proper direction'

Loktantrik Congress Party leader Naresh Aggarwal is a key member of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition in Uttar Pradesh. He has also been a crucial factor in the replacement of Ram Prakash Gupta by Rajnath Singh as chief minister.

Of course, Aggarwal refuses to admit his role, but he minced no words in telling Onkar Singh and Josy Joseph that Gupta was a disaster as chief minister. He praised chief minister-designate Rajnath Singh, whom he accompanied to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's residence within hours of the official announcement by the BJP. Excerpts from the interview:

Why this change? What prompted Gupta's removal?

After the outgoing chief minister expressed his inability to continue in office on health grounds, the BJP leadership was left with no alternative but to appoint a new man.

Did Gupta express his inability to continue in office after learning that he was being replaced?

I would not say that. According to me, the kind of politics he practises is not the kind of politics that is being followed today. I gather that he was unable to adjust to the changed environment. Therefore he was out of tune with many things. I would not say that we are living in an age of cyber politics, but the pace of politics has obviously changed.

What are the major obstacles Rajnath Singh will have to tackle as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh?

The biggest challenge comes obviously from law and order. Then there is the problem of non-payment, or underpayment, for produce to farmers. The farmers are agitated on this issue. Then comes the priority of having good roads in the state. These are some of the issues the people want addressed immediately. So the new chief minister will have to address himself to these challenges and find solutions to them.

Why did Gupta fail to make his mark in UP politics?

The basic reason was his inability to carry the coalition partners with him. He isolated himself not only from the party cadre, but also from the parties who were sharing power with him. He could not give the government the proper direction and form of a coalition government. People could not understand what kind of ideology he was following.

Often there were rumours that he was going, but he survived. What made him go this time?

It is for the BJP government to decide. And only they can answer, not for us to say anything. As far as the coalition partners were concerned, they tried their best to co-operate with Ram Prakash Gupta. But we did not get the kind of co-operation we should have got. I have no hesitation in saying this.

There is a demand for further division of UP. What do you think of it?

We do not support UP's further division. In fact, we had opposed the formation of Uttaranchal too. The division of UP will reduce Uttar Pradesh's importance in national politics. I am not talking just from a point of view of votes, but look at the decisive say UP has in the formation of the government at the Centre. More states will mean that UP's economic viability will also get eroded. Because in Uttar Pradesh we have some good districts and we have some very backward districts. That balance will be upset. Though the state of Uttaranchal has been formed, it will not be financially viable.

Has Rajnath Singh's induction enhanced the prospects of the alliance in the coming elections?

It definitely has enhanced our chances because he is an able administrator. We were always getting co-operation from him even when he was the state BJP president. We even now are supporting him, because we see in him the same Rajnath Singh. I have full confidence that he will be able to carry all the parties with him and lead us in the coming elections successfully.

Did you ever complain to the prime minister and the Union home minister about Gupta's 'bad' administration?

Yes. We have been keeping them up-to-date about the problems. It is not that we went and complained to them just today.

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