07-21-2008, 01:32 PM
<b>Nuclear deal not about Congress: Sachin Pilot</b>
18 Jul 2008, 1554 hrs IST, Rustam Roy,TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Sachin Pilot in Delhi
Sachin Pilot (TOI Photo)
Sachin Pilot, first-time MP from Dausa, talks about the nuke deal, his experience in Parliament and narrowly missing out on a Cabinet berth.
<b>
Sachin, the 14th Lok Sabha is nearing the end of its tenure. As a first-time MP how has the experience been for you?</b>
I have to admit it has been an enriching experience. Time has moved so quickly. There have been big and small achievements. I got a lot of young people into the political landscape; at another level in my constituency in Dausa, I helped bring up a mobile tower, worked towards building new roads and arranging for drinking water. All these might seem small but these are big things for people of my constituency.
<b>
Do you have any regrets?</b>
No not at all. I have realised one has to be in the system to change it. We all have to work inside the system to make a difference. It's no good talking in the air and criticising from outside.
<b>
And then you narrowly missed out on a Cabinet berth?</b>
See, it's not a bus ride that I missed the bus. A party needs all kinds of people. My party has given me so much work. I get to do a lot of parliamentary work... my first speech in Parliament was on farmers who are close to my heart. Also I am a part of state coordination committee, manifesto committee, so I am saddled with work. I have a long way to go as an MP, there will be many opportunities.
<b>
Since you were unavailable for comment for two days after the new Cabinet was announced many felt you were hurt...</b>
That is just not the case. I'll tell you, it was a Sunday, there was so much speculation going on, so much media coverage and then breaking news on TV. The news ticker on TV was buzzing, even after the Cabinet was announced. I was busy congratulating people and I had no time really. After that I issued a statement. So it was all so fast and hectic that people perceived a lot of things.
<b>
Let me ask you: what does the nuclear deal mean to the Congress?</b>
See, the party is bigger than any individual and the country is bigger than any party, so it's not really about the Congress. The thing is it's good for the country, it's a three-stage process. It ends our nuclear isolation, its not intrusive...and most importantly we don't have uranium. The agreement will give us a passport to procure enriched uranium. Of course what we do with the passport depends on us and how we handle it.
We have discussed the nuclear deal threadbare, both within the party and in the parliamentary committee. I presented the deal before Parliament. Now if some people want to resist it just because it's 'American imperialism', what can I say about that!
<b>
A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi said even the young MPs in the BJP support the deal...</b>
Rahul Gandhi is right... the truth is except for Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie everyone in the BJP actually supports the deal but then politics comes into it and everybody has to follow the party whip.
<b>
And the truth is that it's the BJP which initiated the process when they were in power...</b>
That's exactly the point, and we have no problem in giving credit to the BJP for starting the process. But it is Manmohan Singh and his team who have finally got us to close the deal. The BJP just cannot deal with that which I think is plain political gimmickry.<b>
Do you think the PM has staked too much on the deal? After being a successful Finance Minister in the 90s, will he now be remembered as a great PM who gave us the deal? Isn't it unthinkable that a government might fall on a foreign policy issue when the country is pre-occupied with inflation and other internal problems?</b>
See, the PM is a visionary. It's not a question of 3 or 5 years, the deal will help us in the next 20 years because we are such an energy-deficient country. So we need the deal. The PM does not need to prove himself, he will be known as India's PM whatever happens, he does not need to leave behind a legacy as you put it. The PM believes in ownership as far as the deal is concerned. What's wrong with that?
<b>
Do you think the Congress has been unable to sell the deal to the people? The BJP had done a great job of reaching out to the people when they were in power.</b>
We don't believe in the propaganda machinery of the RSS and Sangh Parivar. They can even show Ganesh drinking milk. We don't believe in that.... People realise the merits and believe me, I travel to far-off villages and there they tell me that the PM wants to make us self-reliant in energy, so really people know a lot of things...
<b>
And then there is the Samajwadi Party factor. Just yesterday you were enemies but now you are friends with them..</b>
That's not true, in 2004 the SP had pledged to support us and that letter of support is with the President since then... Now you might see them supporting us in spirit and a bit more visible... our partnership is based on a single agenda of national gain.
<b>
There is also the UP factor interlinked isn't it? A chance to team up and take on Mayawati?</b>
That is all speculation. Uttar Pradesh's being a factor or not does not come into it. Multiple benefits, some benefits... it's not the way we think. The SP has decided to support us and the deal and that's what is important.
18 Jul 2008, 1554 hrs IST, Rustam Roy,TIMESOFINDIA.COM
Sachin Pilot in Delhi
Sachin Pilot (TOI Photo)
Sachin Pilot, first-time MP from Dausa, talks about the nuke deal, his experience in Parliament and narrowly missing out on a Cabinet berth.
<b>
Sachin, the 14th Lok Sabha is nearing the end of its tenure. As a first-time MP how has the experience been for you?</b>
I have to admit it has been an enriching experience. Time has moved so quickly. There have been big and small achievements. I got a lot of young people into the political landscape; at another level in my constituency in Dausa, I helped bring up a mobile tower, worked towards building new roads and arranging for drinking water. All these might seem small but these are big things for people of my constituency.
<b>
Do you have any regrets?</b>
No not at all. I have realised one has to be in the system to change it. We all have to work inside the system to make a difference. It's no good talking in the air and criticising from outside.
<b>
And then you narrowly missed out on a Cabinet berth?</b>
See, it's not a bus ride that I missed the bus. A party needs all kinds of people. My party has given me so much work. I get to do a lot of parliamentary work... my first speech in Parliament was on farmers who are close to my heart. Also I am a part of state coordination committee, manifesto committee, so I am saddled with work. I have a long way to go as an MP, there will be many opportunities.
<b>
Since you were unavailable for comment for two days after the new Cabinet was announced many felt you were hurt...</b>
That is just not the case. I'll tell you, it was a Sunday, there was so much speculation going on, so much media coverage and then breaking news on TV. The news ticker on TV was buzzing, even after the Cabinet was announced. I was busy congratulating people and I had no time really. After that I issued a statement. So it was all so fast and hectic that people perceived a lot of things.
<b>
Let me ask you: what does the nuclear deal mean to the Congress?</b>
See, the party is bigger than any individual and the country is bigger than any party, so it's not really about the Congress. The thing is it's good for the country, it's a three-stage process. It ends our nuclear isolation, its not intrusive...and most importantly we don't have uranium. The agreement will give us a passport to procure enriched uranium. Of course what we do with the passport depends on us and how we handle it.
We have discussed the nuclear deal threadbare, both within the party and in the parliamentary committee. I presented the deal before Parliament. Now if some people want to resist it just because it's 'American imperialism', what can I say about that!
<b>
A few days ago, Rahul Gandhi said even the young MPs in the BJP support the deal...</b>
Rahul Gandhi is right... the truth is except for Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie everyone in the BJP actually supports the deal but then politics comes into it and everybody has to follow the party whip.
<b>
And the truth is that it's the BJP which initiated the process when they were in power...</b>
That's exactly the point, and we have no problem in giving credit to the BJP for starting the process. But it is Manmohan Singh and his team who have finally got us to close the deal. The BJP just cannot deal with that which I think is plain political gimmickry.<b>
Do you think the PM has staked too much on the deal? After being a successful Finance Minister in the 90s, will he now be remembered as a great PM who gave us the deal? Isn't it unthinkable that a government might fall on a foreign policy issue when the country is pre-occupied with inflation and other internal problems?</b>
See, the PM is a visionary. It's not a question of 3 or 5 years, the deal will help us in the next 20 years because we are such an energy-deficient country. So we need the deal. The PM does not need to prove himself, he will be known as India's PM whatever happens, he does not need to leave behind a legacy as you put it. The PM believes in ownership as far as the deal is concerned. What's wrong with that?
<b>
Do you think the Congress has been unable to sell the deal to the people? The BJP had done a great job of reaching out to the people when they were in power.</b>
We don't believe in the propaganda machinery of the RSS and Sangh Parivar. They can even show Ganesh drinking milk. We don't believe in that.... People realise the merits and believe me, I travel to far-off villages and there they tell me that the PM wants to make us self-reliant in energy, so really people know a lot of things...
<b>
And then there is the Samajwadi Party factor. Just yesterday you were enemies but now you are friends with them..</b>
That's not true, in 2004 the SP had pledged to support us and that letter of support is with the President since then... Now you might see them supporting us in spirit and a bit more visible... our partnership is based on a single agenda of national gain.
<b>
There is also the UP factor interlinked isn't it? A chance to team up and take on Mayawati?</b>
That is all speculation. Uttar Pradesh's being a factor or not does not come into it. Multiple benefits, some benefits... it's not the way we think. The SP has decided to support us and the deal and that's what is important.