Quality of life has gone up'

Interview with Oscar Fernandes, AICC general secretary.

CONGRESS president Sonia Gandhi's long absence from the country for medical reasons and her apparent lack of intervention in crucial issues before and after her illness have fuelled speculation about an imminent leadership change in the party. Senior leader Oscar Fernandes, who is a party general secretary and is considered close to the Congress president, does not rule out a change of leadership before the next general election. In a conversation with Frontline, he said Rahul Gandhi was already a leader in his own right and it was for him to decide when he wanted to take over. He, however, reiterated that Sonia Gandhi was fully fit and actively participating in all party activities. Excerpts from the conversation:

The Congress president has not been seen to be fully active for a long time. She has not been present at National Advisory Council meetings and her interventions in crucial issues are few and far between. Is this an indication of an imminent change of leadership in the party? Is Rahul Gandhi about to step into her shoes?

Rahul Gandhi is a leader in his own right and it is for him to decide at what time he wants to play what role. That decision has to be his and his alone and he only will decide the timing. As for Mrs Gandhi's health, despite her health problems she is fully active in party work. Even before she went away she was discharging all her responsibilities. Immediately after her return, she attended the second phase of the ticket distribution meeting for the U.P. Assembly elections. Even on October 2, she could have kept away, but the day being such a holy day for us, she attended the function. She is meeting all party functionaries since her return. Her health is not a factor in the leadership issue.

Why is the impression gaining ground that the government is not pursuing policies for the aam admi?

This is political vendetta by the opposition parties. They are trying to blur whatever good work the government is doing. Besides, in the federal structure that we have, the implementation is to be done by the States. And there are States that have not even revised their BPL [below poverty line] list for years, hence many poor people are deprived of the benefits they are entitled to. The UPA government is giving money to States like never before. Even a tiny State like Arunachal Pradesh recently got Rs.24,000 crore for various pro-people programmes.

But the fact remains that food inflation is at an all-time high and the government does not seem to be doing anything about it?

True, food inflation is high and it is hitting the poor badly. But this is also a fact that over 60-70 per cent of our population is dependent on agriculture, and the procurement price of almost all farm produce has doubled since the NDA government's time. The farmers' purchasing power has gone up. Non-farm labourers are earning a minimum of Rs.135 a day under the NREGA [National Rural Employment Guarantee Act] scheme. This increased influx of money has pushed up prices. But we also have to acknowledge that the quality of life has certainly gone up in the last few years. Almost everyone has a mobile phone these days and most households have a TV and a fridge, things that were considered a luxury not too long ago.

On the issue of corruption and black money, the government has come under attack for not doing much, and its sincerity in fighting corruption has been questioned. The perception is that whatever has been done is because of public pressure.

The government had initiated the Lokpal Bill even before Anna Hazare came on the scene. The Congress president had chalked out a five-point agenda to fight corruption at the plenary session in January this year and the government is following that agenda.

But as far as drafting laws is concerned, there are legal and constitutional issues to be dealt with and that can't be done in a hurry. As for the black money issue, now that Mr Advani is taking out the yatra, he should tell us what his government did about this issue in the seven years that they were in power.

Of late, there has been an impression of a lack of coordination between the government and the party. This was visible during the Anna campaign in August.

Not true at all. The government has its own role and the party has its own role. As and when the party feels the need, it discusses with the government if something more needs to be done somewhere. The government never goes against the party. There is perfect coordination. But yes, the party has the mandate to deal with framing policies that directly benefit people. We have to frame policies that provide employment to people and contribute to wealth generation. The government has to ensure that the policy direction being provided by the party is followed.

But with the government facing the charge of inaction and inefficiency on all major fronts, how does the party plan to deal with this?

These are nothing but minor tsunamis and typhoons. We will deal appropriately with them at the right time. There is nothing to worry.