Randeep Surjewala.
Credit: PTI file photo
Randeep Singh Surjewala, a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan, is a member of Congress Working Committee. As party General Secretary, he was given the charge of Karnataka where the Congress won the elections and later poll-bound Madhya Pradesh.
Articulate and eloquent, he however, stirred a huge controversy recently when he had called the BJP supporters and those who voted for BJP as of rakshash pravarti (demonic nature) in Chandigarh.
He was in Jaipur today to enumerate the Congress government’s achievements before Rajasthan goes to polls on November 25.
Rakhee Roytalukdar spoke with him on the sidelines
The political slamming in Rajasthan’s campaigning is touching a new low each day, with Rahul Gandhi calling Prime Minister several names? Do you think this discourse is decent enough during an election campaign?
Being the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi has also not backed off in lowering the political discourse in any way. As a Prime Minister, he should set the bar for polite, decent debates and speeches. But in reality it is far from that. He has called Rahul several things, the latest being Murkhon Ka Sardar, (without naming him). The PM always talks about dynastic politics and his relentless anti-Congress diatribe is known to all. He even brought in the late Rajesh Pilot in his speech, saying both he and his son Sachin are being punished as he had once challenged the Gandhi family. Certainly there has to be a limit beyond which one should not overstep. And it has to be equally adhered to, by all parties.
2) BJP has made women security a major poll issue, saying Rajasthan tops in rape cases across the country? How is Congress countering this issue?
BJP should look into their own states before commenting on crime against women. According to NCRB data of 2021, incidents of crime against women are highest in Uttar Pradesh. Also look at Madhya Pradesh’s figures which are very high. All these are BJP-ruled states. After the Nirbhaya case, the UPA government amended the rape laws, made it stricter and established the Nirbhaya Fund to ensure women’s safety and security at public places. But have the funds been utilised properly, we don’t know. The distribution of funds amongst the states have been lopsided. So before talking about the security concerns of women in Rajasthan, they should look into their own yard and introspect. More than 40 women police stations are already operating in Rajasthan which are run by women police. The state government has created a special investigative unit for crimes against women in each district under the supervision of SPs. The Mahila Suraksha and Salah Kendras (MSSK) are already working. The Congress has proposed CCTV camera installation in public spaces, appointment of security guards at every village and urban ward, reducing the average investigation time in sexual harassment cases and setting up women’s courts on the lines of women’s police stations for addressing legal matters concerning women.
3.) Can you give the exact figures of the government jobs that have been given to people in the past five years?
I don’t have the figures right now. It can be provided to you.
4.) Has Congress worked out the financial burden of the welfare schemes and the guarantees that are being offered?
We have worked out the economic pragmatism of our Budget. When Modiji overlooks the Rs 5,35,000 crore bank scamsters and writes off the bank loans of Rs 15000 crore, it is economic harakiri. But when we directly transfer cash into common man’s pockets, it is economic wisdom. It makes sense to put cash in people’s hands as they do not run away from the country. When we propose to give Rs 10,000 annually to female heads of family, she is not going to save it but would use it on her household. When people are saving money from the free electricity of 100 units, the family would spend it on school fees and other essentials, which actually means the money would get rolled back into the consumer market and would come into the government’s coffers through GST, which is called ‘spurring the job growth and manufacturing’. It is a cyclical system. We had done this in MNREGA in 2009-2010 when the world was reeling under financial crisis. We had put Rs 72000 crore into the scheme and also waived off farmer loans amounting to Rs 72000 crore, which made the money come back into the market.