Arunachal story is not over yet, says Ram Madhav

BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, in charge of the north-eastern States and Jammu and Kashmir, where the party has seen some reversal of fortune lately, said the “story of Arunachal Pradesh is not over yet” even after the restoration of a Congress government in the State, while criticising the Supreme Court’s judgment in that case as one “that raises more questions than it answers.”

Speaking exclusively to The Hindu, Mr. Madhav, who has till now maintained silence on both his charges, was combative in his comments when it came to the party’s position in the two States.

“Whether it was Kalikho Pul or Pema Khandu, this was purely an internal problem of the Congress. When Kalikho Pul stood up and said the majority of the MLAs do not have faith in the leadership of Nabam Tuki, the Congress should have taken steps to save its government. If the Congress feels that it was the BJP’s responsibility to save its government, it doesn’t work that way in politics,” he said.

‘Internal matter of Cong.’

“When Kalikho Pul wanted to bring down the Tuki government, our party legislators did what any Opposition would have done. What did the Congress expect? That we would rescue the Tuki government? It was an internal matter of the Congress. It went to the Supreme Court, which gave a judgment that raises more questions than it answers. Anyway, those questions will have to be left for posterity, to be answered by the same Supreme Court at a later date.

“Politically, we have been proved right by the fact that the Congress had to remove Nabam Tuki as the legislative party leader, and bring in Pema Khandu, the point of the whole rebellion within the Congress,” he said. “When Pema Khandu sought a vote of confidence, we opposed him, as any Opposition party should.”

“Seeing the things there, however, I feel that the story in Arunachal is not over yet fully,” he said. Asked to elaborate on why he felt so, he said, “because I’m again hearing that there are internal problems in the Congress party there.” He did not elaborate on the nature of these problems, just that he “was hearing many things.”

On Kashmir

On Kashmir, Mr. Madhav said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) MP Muzaffar Baig’s speech in the Lok Sabha telling off the Central government for killing rather than arresting Burhan Wani who he described as being “no Bin Laden” and constantly under the gaze of the security agencies, had nought to do with the BJP-PDP government in Srinagar. “What does one statement have to do with the alliance?” he asked.

“Look, one thing you must understand. There was an operation against a group of terrorists. How to handle the situation when bullets are flying is best understood by people who are on the spot. There was an encounter in which three terrorists were engaged with security forces. Burhan Wani got killed in that encounter along with the two other terrorists. On the spot whatever the people engaged in the operation were trained to do, they did,” he said.

Asked why the State government did not anticipate the backlash of this incident, and the violent protests that followed, he said: “The State government will look into the issues, whether there were lapses in dealing with the situation, but we must compliment them for bringing the situation back to normal in 10-12 days.” According to him, pellet guns had been in use since the 2010 stone-pelting incidents. “If there is a review of this situation… we welcome it,” he said.