Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the lawyer and the decorated war veteran, who is all set to join the Rajya Sabha unopposed from Hyderabad Telangana on September 3, recently spoke to Saubhadra Chatterji about the political journey that he has had thus far. Singhvi shared his experience of his recent loss in the Rajya Sabha elections from Himachal Pradesh and its effect on him, the Congress party’s rather complex relationship with lateral entry into government services, as well as the current political situation, where the INDIA bloc has strengthened its position in Parliament.
When Singhvi failed to be elected to the Parliament from Himachal Pradesh, he readily explained his misfortune as a combination of personal and political factors. He was able to narrate the worst of human behavior and chivalry during that period. Singhvi admitted that the defeat was, in a sense, deserved, pointing to the fact that out of nine MLAs who voted against him, six lost their position and the others became insignificant in the Opposition.
He posited that the main cause of the political machinations was to reshuffle the composition of the state government with him as an unintended but unfortunate by-product thereof. In response, Singhvi explained that this is ‘entirely different politics’ with ‘distinct dynamics’ of politics in Telangana.
Singhvi stressed the issues of political change, pointing to a certain reduction of arrogance and consequent infallibility, which was characteristic of the previous government. Elections were said to have solidarily and importantly bolstered the structure of the INDIA bloc, and maintaining and expanding the bloc was strongly emphasized as necessary.
He also spoke about the present government’s measures, where he said there is growth in checks and balances, including reconsidering the lateral entry scheme. Singhvi also posited the ability of coalition governments accruing from numerous voices to actualize more social diversity and, therefore, better decisions given adequate time.
Check here for the latest updates in Hindi!