Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
This interview was conducted before Sam Pitroda’s comments on the Sikh riots.
President of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda, when talking to The Quint’s Editorial Director Sanjay Pugalia about the Lok Sabha elections and forming the government, touched upon the topic of alliances. He asserted that the Congress is winning the Lok Sabha polls and will form the government.
When asked that in the event of an alliance, who will be the Prime Minister, Pitroda said that they will arrive at a conclusion only after discussing with other parties,. He added, however, ‘If you ask Sam Pitroda, Rahul Gandhi will be PM.’
On the topic of the Mahagathbandhan, he said:
“I’m saying that the whole country knows that Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mayawati ji, Jagan Reddy, Naveen Patnaik, Chandrababu Naidu – these are the people who need to be spoken to at this stage. Everyone knows – you, me, even schoolchildren know this. It’s a no-brainer, really. And talks have already begun with all of them. Some wanted more, some less.”Sam Pitroda, Senior Congress Leader
Everyone Has the Same Thought About the Nation
Sam Pitroda said, “I would say that we know her (Mayawati) importance. We know the importance of all these people. These are big leaders of their communities. We respect them. We may have a little bit of difference here and there. But we all have an idea of India which is similar. So, at that point in time, we know people will sacrifice, there will be proper negotiations. They will understand the need to give up something or take something.”
“We had a discussion with all potential allies – whether Kejriwal or in UP. We are a larger party, a national party. So, naturally people want more from us. When we go negotiating they want to extract more and more from us. In one case, we had gone to negotiate for a state, everything was right. Immediately, the leader said ’I want this state, that state’, because they can get an advantage with us. Through us, they want to build a national party... and negotiations fall apart. What happens is they wind up saying ’My way or the highway’. “Sam Pitroda, Senior Congress Leader
‘Confident All Opposition Leaders Will Come Together’
“I’m confident that all of the Opposition leaders will come together, because they are all sensible people. They all know the atrocities of the Modi government. They all know the damage done to this country. They all know that we haven’t created jobs the economy is in bad shape, democracy has been hijacked, freedom is curbed. We all will come come together they will compromise, they will sacrifice...some people will have to sacrifice. And I’ve great confidence in their ability to rise above petty politics and work together. I look forward to that.Sam Pitroda, Senior Congress Leader
Watch the full interview here
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