The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, Mr.Nitin Gadkari, talks about a wide range of issues from the state of the economy to the mood of the nation, the Kashmir crisis, the prime minister’s role in the cabinet, the much-anticipated 2019 elections, and his chances at being prime minister.
- Looking back at the BJP’s ‘acche din’ pitch before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Gadkari said that what was considered “good times” may vary from person to person. The expectation of people is always increasing.
- When asked about the general impression that the PM Modi dominating the Cabinet, Gadkari labelled them rumours, with “no proof, relevance or ground realities.” PM Modi allows everyone to speak. Modi has courage. He listens to everyone.
- On his government achieving almost the same or less than the UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh, Gadkari pointed to a few parameters on which India could perform better. He added that the expectation from his government in terms of industrial sector was more.
- PM Modi promised the creation of 10 million jobs every year, before he assumed office. However, over the last four years, the hunger for jobs has only increased. While some government bodies like the NITI Aayog claim that jobs have been created, pink papers say otherwise. Gadkari stressed that job creation was important for his government, he also said that the growing population increased the demand for jobs.
- When asked if he will accept that Kashmir was one of the BJP government’s most worrying problems, Gadkari said that their fight was against the Pakistanis and not Kashmiris. It is a proxy war with Pakistan. I am not making Kashmiris responsible for that. It is the import of terrorism, terrorists and terrorist organisations that are constantly creating problems. And it is a fight with Pakistan, not with Kashmiris.
- When asked why the PM did not speak out in support of Sushma Swaraj, or when Gauri Lankesh was murdered, Gadkari backed Modi, saying that he did not want to “play politics.” Home Minister Rajnath Singh supports Sushma ji. Ex-president Nitin Gadkari supports Sushma Swaraj. The Prime Minister is equally in support of Sushma Ji. When we speak we are representatives of the Prime Minister.
- When asked about the possibility of Gadkari himself becoming the prime ministerial candidate if the BJP does not get a majority, as he is “more acceptable to the allies”, Gadkari said: I have got way more than I deserved. I do not belong to any race. I follow the party’s ideology. I am happy as a minister. I do not wish to be a candidate. I am fully confident that BJP will get majority. Narendra Modi will be prime minister.
As things stand today, only mismanagement by opposition parties could make NDA win 2019 general elections. As such BJP's defeat is a foregone conclusion, but there is a meek possibility of NDA winning with BJP falling short of majority which may cause embarrassment to Modi in holding the seat of PM. In order to ensure continued support of NDA allies, Modi stepping down and Nitin Gadkari becoming PM is also widely debated as a possibility. The simple reason is that his ministry is the best performing ministry in NDA government consistently.
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