Former Union minister and estranged Congress leader Birender Singh said young politicians, who have zeal to work for the country, should be given importance and people should prepare a common manifesto for all the parties.
“Poverty remains an unresolved issue in the country for the past 500 years. A poor man demands free ration because the efforts to pull him out of poverty have failed,” he added.
Singh said more focus is required to make agriculture profitable for farmers and impart quality education to children. “New faces and people with clean image, irrespective of their political inclination, should be given importance in the politics. They might be from the BJP or even from the Congress,” he said when asked about his plans to join any other party or form a new outfit.
There is a need to bring ‘Jan Manifesto’ to eradicate the problems, he said.
‘Hooda is a good friend’
“Hooda saab is not only my brother (cousin), but also is my very close friend and we sit together for healthy discussions,” Birender said.
“I had advised Hooda four years ago that don’t leave the Congress even if he was ignored or if he leaves the party, he should not float his own outfit, otherwise he will face the same consequences like late Bhajan Lal had to,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“I had advised Hooda four years ago that don’t leave the Congress even if he was ignored or if he leaves the party, he should not float his own outfit, otherwise he will face the same consequences like late Bhajan Lal had to,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“During my 42 years of association with the Congress, I can say that the party is a big institution. To capture the Congress, Hooda needs to get support of people,” he said when asked whether Hooda has taken the control of the party in Haryana.
On the increasing popularity of the Aam Aadmi Party in the state, he said Punjab will decide its future. They cannot implement the ‘Delhi Model’ in Punjab, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Gujarat Model’ couldn’t be implemented in other states, he added.
On why the BJP did not utilise his vast political experience, he said, “I am quite outspoken, but in the BJP there is a need to be secretive which I cannot be.”
He refused to comment on the ‘crises’ in the Congress, saying he had family relations with late Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and does not want to speak about it.
“Gandhi family is the central point of the Congress and I do not even any leader from the party as a better replacement of the Gandhis,” he added.