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Coffee with HT: Vote-bank politics will vanish in 2024, says U.P. minister Asim Arun
Our democracy has matured and we are moving away from the politics of vote-bank to the politics of development, said Asim Arun
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Vote-bank politics will cease to be a factor in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as people will vote on development plank, said Asim Arun said, minister of state (independent charge) social welfare, scheduled caste and tribal welfare.
“Our democracy has matured and we are moving away from the politics of vote-bank to the politics of development,” Arun said at the Coffee with HT programme on Wednesday. He said all government schemes are focused on the needy, and not on specific communities. “People are clearly benefitting from the central schemes, and they associate with a leader like Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he added.
Evincing hope that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will achieve its target of securing all 80 MP seats from the state in the upcoming elections, he said: “The focus will be on issues such as foreign policies, health, development and welfare schemes launched by the central government, he said.
Drawing comparison between the recruitments into government jobs done in the past and now, Arun accused the then Samajwadi Party-led government of indulging in corruption. “There is a contrasting difference between the recruitments done under the Samajwadi Party and those done under the BJP. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath tasked STF to ensure that there was no cheating or leak of question papers. Under the then SP government, around two dozen IPS officers were suspended for their involvement in the police recruitment scam. The contrast between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Modi is sharp. The contrast with BSP is even sharper,” he remarked.
“Parties doing caste politics are being rejected by people in elections. The caste mathematics will not work in the election now. Today, people across the country have understood that real math is of social change. People want education, health facilities, dignity, security. A father’s concern is that his daughter returns home safely. He will vote for the party that will give security and dignity to the girls, and not to the candidate who belongs to his caste,” he observed.
On the hold of the BSP chief Mayawati over the schedule caste voters, Arun said: “The BSP had its virtues earlier but now the organisation is weak. I criticise various policies of the BSP but have respect for the BSP chief Mayawati. Under her government, the schedule caste community was empowered and lived with dignity. Still, I will say that vote-bank politics is wrong. It weakens the community.”
He said with better law and order people from the minority community feel safe, and that all festivals are celebrated with fervour without any social tension. “Incidents of eve-teasing and mismanagement during the then SP government led to the Muzaffarnagar riots. Today there is no communal violence in the state as the matter is controlled at the start.”
On joining the BJP, Arun said the party’s leadership is one that sparks dreams. “The BJP is the only party that approached me. It is a leadership development programme... The party has a lateral entry scheme, under which professionals are inducted into the party. This is a big strength of the BJP.”
About the cool-off period for the serving bureaucrats after taking voluntary retirement, Arun said the rule is in place to prevent any conflict of interest as the officer might be aware of policies that could help a company. However, there is no similar rule for the officer taking VRS to contest an election. There is no incident of misuse of position as well.”
