Rajesh Pilot, who is an elected member of the CWC, was the sole dissenter at its September 23 meeting. He argued in favour of a sort of ad hoc arrangement by making the seniormost general secretary, Janardhana Poojary, the officiating Congress president in place of Narasimha Rao. Pilot has been a dissenter all through—ordering Chandraswami’s arrest to embarrass Rao, then demanding that Rao step down as Congress president after the recent parliamentary elections, owning responsibility for the party’s defeat. A retired air-commodore, Pilot has won four of the five Lok Sabha elections he has contested since 1980 and seems to have meshed well into the fine mould of Congress tradition. He was one of the first few leaders to be present at the party office to greet Sitaram Kesri and promise him all support when he formally took over on September 24. Pilot spoke to Yubaraj Ghimire about the dilemmas facing the Congress. Excerpts:
Do you consider Rao’s resignation a victory for the dissidents?
It was circumstance and the court summons that made him resign. We raised this issue as a matter of principle. This is no victory for us or defeat for Rao. I’d consider it a victory only if the demoralisation that has set in the party disappears on account of it.
But Rao has not yet resigned from the CPP post...
It is for Raosaheb to decide what are the different yardsticks he has applied in resigning from one post but, at the same time, retaining another.
Are you going to demand his resignation as CPP leader as well?
Let us hope that the party takes a stand on the issue of corruption. My opinion is well known. What I think, as an individual, is one thing. But a party taking the lead on such matters will have an altogether different impact. In any case, all parties have to sit and decide how to fight the menace of corruption, and I firmly believe the Congress should take the initiative. It has an obligation to the people because of the legacy it carries.
Now that Rao has resigned as Congress president, do you think it will strengthen the party?
Had Rao resigned earlier, it would have made the party morally stronger and created an impression that it stood for the principle of probity in public life. What he has done is not enough. Large sections of the society are alienated. We have to win them back, to convince them that the Congress cares for them more than other parties.
From what you said at the CWC meeting, it seems that you are not happy with Sitaram Kesri’s takeover?
I would not like to comment on what I said in the party forum. We have a culture of debate and discussion. A difference of opinion is not taboo. But once it becomes a decision of the party—by consensus or majority—it becomes a decision for each one of us. This becomes my decision as well now.
Are you disappointed that none of your dissident colleagues supported you?
Not at all. I thought it was not right on my part to change my stand—that the electoral debacle was a serious matter that impinges on the party’s future. I wanted it debated at a larger forum like the AICC. Major sections of society have been alienated from the party, and the ideology we swear by seems weakened. The AICC is the right forum for such discussions; and since it had been scheduled for October, I thought even the party chief’s election could take place then and there. And till then, the seniormost general secretary could have officiated.
You have been overruled. What now?
I am 100 per cent with the Congress president. I am now a sincere colleague of his and am going to work to strengthen the party.
Do you think the session will take place in October?
I’ve had no discussion with the party president on the subject. The previous president had said it would take place in October. The change, if any, has to be announced by the new president.
