Hot seat - KV Singhdeo, president, state BJP

It is perceived that the BJP, with just six Assembly seats, is a spent force in Odisha and cannot be revived without the support of Naveen Patnaik. How do you foresee the future of your party?

I am sure that people of Odisha will opt for us. The UPA government will not be able to survive in the next elections because of various acts of omissions and commissions. So, the Congress will not be in a position to replace the BJD. The BJP will.

The BJP, only with an alliance with the BJD in 2000, could make inroads into Odisha. Would it be able to come to power on its own? What if the NDA seeks Naveen’s support?

The NDA will not need BJD’s support in the next elections. There will be no alliance. You won’t befriend your foe when you know it will ultimately harm you. We have been stabbed in the back earlier. The BJP will sail independently. It had agreed to play second fiddle to the BJD in 2000. Naveen babu rode piggyback on us and came to power in the state. From Day One, he systematically tried to destroy the BJP and was successful to a large extent because the last nail on the coffin was breaking the alliance on the eve of the 2009 elections. In fact, we should have pulled out of the government after Swami Laxmananda Saraswati was murdered in 2008 because he was not provided with security despite repeated pleas. My party did make a mistake then but we have learnt our lesson.

As the new party president, how do you plan to resolve the infighting among your colleagues and unite them?

There is no infighting. There may be different views on different issues. One has to carry everybody along in the interest of the party.

Soon after assuming responsibility as the BJP state president, you attacked chief minister Naveen Patnaik by saying he is directly involved in the multi-crore mining scam and would soon find himself in jail with former Jharkhand CM Madhu Koda, who has been locked up in connection with a disproportionate assets case. What prompted you to make such a bold statement?

Naveen babu has lost the confidence of the people because of the various scams his government is embroiled in. The manner in which he has been declaring sops only goes to show that he is unsure of returning to power in the 2014 elections. Because of this, he wants to create such a situation that whoever succeeds his government will have to be content with empty coffers and be forced to lead Odisha in disarray.

Despite the scams, there is a popular perception that Naveen has a lily-white image. How can you say that he has lost the confidence of people?

His image is a myth. Naveen babu was the one who cleared the file in case of Sainik mining, overlooking the views of the finance department, which had clearly mentioned that there could be no joint venture where the state government has less than 51 per cent share. But it allowed Sainik 76 per cent share. What was the hidden agenda?

But hasn’t the government cancelled Sainik’s mining lease now?

The government signed an MoU in 2003-04, but cancelled their mining lease only in 2012. Had the matter not come out in the open, it would have allowed them to continue. Panchayati raj minister Kalpataru Das said the Shah Commission report on mining scam did not say anything about Naveen babu’s involvement, but about Karnataka ex-chief minister. We are not fools. In Karnataka, the CBI investigated and put the minister behind bars. Same thing happened in Jharkhand with Madhu Koda. If Naveen babu is so clean, then why is he not asking for a CBI inquiry into the mining scam? He is appointing the best lawyers and spending money from the state exchequer to defend his government’s illegal activities.

Doesn’t Naveen deserve credit for improving Odisha’s economy, turning the state’s deficit into a surplus?

When he took charge in 2000, the state coffers were empty. But the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee intervened and provided financial assistance to Odisha, helping us tide over the crisis. Now, Naveen babu is diverting Central funds and claiming it is state government funds. A glaring example is the misuse of the CM relief fund for distribution of free bicycles to schoolgirls. Minister Damodar Rout said the money would be refunded, but that is yet to happen.

The BJP enjoyed power for nine years, but hardly achieved anything remarkable. Why?

You are mistaken. Uniform for college students was introduced during the tenure of BJP’s Samir Dey. The Rs 2-a kg rice was launched when BJP’s Manmohan Samal held the food and consumer welfare portfolio. When the industrial development began and the MoUs started happening, again BJP’s Biswa Bhushan Harichandan was behind it.

But there are a lot of loopholes in the MoUs such as the one with Posco. Won’t you own up to that?

I don’t agree with you. The IPR says after fulfilment of 70 per cent of the criteria investment on ground, one will be recommended for a mining lease. The state government altered the clauses arbitrarily. The BJP protested throughout, but then the matter became sub-judice. The government signed many MoUs and later cancelled some of them after they had invested here. Isn’t that a breach of trust?

Will we see your wife, Sangeeta Singhdeo, contesting elections this time?

It is quite premature to answer that. The party’s parliamentary board will decide the candidates. But I don’t know if she is interested.

Is Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi expected to canvass for the BJP here?

I am quite certain. He is one of the tall leaders of BJP. When the election campaign begins, the party might send him here.