'There's Anger On The Ground Against BJP'

'If elections are held with honesty you will see their defeat.'

He was once at the helm of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a party built on Chaudhary Charan Singh's political legacy.

Today, Ramashish Rai has walked out as the RLD's Uttar Pradesh president, after accusing his party of abandoning the very ideology that once defined it.

His resignation is not merely a parting of ways with RLD President Jayant Chaudhary -- it is an indictment of the RLD's decision to join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2024.

Rai recalls learning about the BJP-RLD alliance from the media while he was in Varanasi accompanying Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra -- an episode that, he says, left him stunned.

In an interview with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff, Ramashish Rai accuses the BJP of weakening democracy, fuelling communal polarisation and pursuing policies that hurt farmers, while taking a swipe at Jayant Chaudhary for choosing power over ideology.

After being the state president of the Rashtriya Lok Dal you are quitting the RLD. Was this a sudden decision or was it building up?

I was unhappy for the last six-seven months.

When I was a part of the RLD it was in alliance with Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party. We were then fighting for the rights of kisans and jawans.

Then Jayant Chaudhary, our leader, decided to switch sides all of a sudden by becoming an ally of the BJP.

He overnight dumped the SP alliance. At that moment I was in Varanasi accompanying Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Yatra.

I was informed by the media that Jayant Chaudhary had joined hands with the BJP. I had to cancel my press conference right then and there.

'If Chaudhary sahib got the Bharat Ratna that does not mean Jayant had to change his party's ideology'

But you didn't resign right away.

I was shocked for sure by his move.

Now I am seeing that the BJP has started attacking our Constitution. They are weakening our democracy.

The government is sponsoring communal polarisation and this is hurting me very much. So I decided to quit.

Jayant Chaudhary then said the fact that the BJP government conferred the Bharat Ratna on his late grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh made him obliged to them.

He was not ready to be with the BJP in any circumstance.

His famous words were 'Main koi chavvani thodi hoon jo badal jaoonga (I am not a 25 paisa coin which can be flipped).'

He then changed his statement saying, 'Khichdi aur kheer ho toh kya khaya jaye? (If you have khichdi and kheer, what will you eat?)'

If Chaudhary sahib got the Bharat Ratna that does not mean Jayant had to change his party's ideology.

Our party struggled for farmers' rights and you gave that up and joined hands with the BJP!

Were you uncomfortable with the BJP as your party's ally from day one? Did you say this to Jayant Chaudhary?

Yes, I did feel so. I told him that we are fighting for the rights of farmers which is being suppressed by the BJP so it is not right to be their ally.

I told him the RLD base voter will not be happy with this move.

'The way the BJP is buying out or splitting Opposition MLAs and MPs is endangering our democracy'

All said and done, the BJP always wins elections. You cannot deny this fact.

Winning elections and forming the government are a different thing compared to getting good people elected.

You will see now that many criminal elements get elected which in no way is going to improve our society. We are heading for anarchy because of such people getting elected.

Another problem is the way the BJP is buying out or splitting Opposition MLAs and MPs, which is endangering our democracy.

Check out how government schemes are being implanted via corporates.

Ministers have no position; bureaucrats with help of corporates are implementing government policies.

Nal jal yojana (tap water scheme) is a total failure.

Even today, people are not getting tap water in their homes, but yes, they are getting bills for usage.

Government jobs that are vacant are not being fully utilised.

Outsourcing and contract workers are the way of life now. Government primary schools have no teachers. Schools and hospitals are in a miserable state.

Where is the people's anger against the BJP on the ground? You don't see it.

There is anger for sure on the ground against the BJP. Corruption has become a way of life and communalism has peaked. Now, people are realising how things have gotten worse in the last 12 years.

'In the name of development they are just grabbing the land of farmers'

Before you quit the RLD did you speak to Jayant Chaudhury?

I did speak to him many times but he was not interested in listening to me.

He is happy to be in power.

He feels whatever the BJP does you got to follow.

This will be the party which will rule for long so why worry and go to the other side of power?

Is it not true what he said?

If elections are held with honesty you will see their defeat.

People of India are getting awakened to BJP misrule. They are rising above religion and caste politics.

In the name of development of four lane and six lane highways they are just grabbing the land of farmers.

Corporate India and American companies want to grab farmers' land so that they are deprived of employment and in return they will sell American farm goods cheaply to Indians.

What about Jayant Chaudhary? Does he not understand this?

It is a farmers' party, but we have been adrift from our core principles of running the party.

Jayant Chaudhary has studied in the USA. He has always been an ally of the government and even now he is in government.

He is a different human being compared to his father Ajit Singh or grandfather Chaudhary Charan Singh.