Q: Why has the Hindustani Awami Morcha made an exit from the Grand Alliance and the Bihar government?
A: The reason is clear, the existence of our party was in danger. We were being told to merge our party, so to save our existence and to keep fighting for the poor, we exited the alliance.
Q: You have never raised this issue before now. Are the upcoming elections a factor in this decision?
A: This is not the case, we have raised several issues before. For instance, officials used to ignore our party’s MLAs, but our point was always suppressed. Then came the party merger which was not acceptable to us.
Q: But it is being said that you have already started demanding five seats in the Lok Sabha?
A: This news is absolutely baseless, we have never demanded seats. However, it was definitely said that if we contest elections on five seats, we will be successful. Everyone wants to move forward in politics, what is wrong with this?
Q: Tell us what was discussed with the BJP—is it an electoral alliance or an ideological alliance?
A: If it was an electoral alliance, we would have made this alliance after the elections. This is a completely ideological alliance. We had a lengthy discussion with Amit Shah and he agreed with us and assured us that he would take us along.
Q: Do you agree with the ideology of the BJP?
A: We absolutely agree with the BJP. We discussed the situation in Bihar with the Home Minister as well as the injustice being done to Dalits and the poor in the state. We talked on our party line and got assurance.
Q: Do you support BJP’s Hindutva? Since Lord Ram is at the center of BJP’s politics, will you support it?
A: As far as Lord Ram is concerned, everyone believes in him and so do we, but we believe in all religions. There is a misconception that has been created about the BJP that it is an anti-Muslim party. We do not talk about religion at all, we are concerned with the upliftment of the poor.
Q: Your father, Jitan Ram Manjhi, used to earlier consider Ram a fictional figure. After joining hands with the BJP, will he now consider Ram as real?
A: Every person has his own opinion, but the party does not accept it. As far as Jitan Ram Majhi ji is concerned, his statement was misconstrued. He believes that wrongdoings should not be carried out in the name of Ram.
Q: Santosh ji, Jitan Ram Manjhi is said to be against worship.
A: It is not like that, Jitan Ram ji is not against worship, he simply said that he does not practice it. This was taken to mean that he is against worship. Every person has their own beliefs and he believes that a person becomes great by his deeds. He is only against the wrong traditions of religion.
Q: Now you are a part of NDA, what assurance did you get from Amit Shah?
A: The Home Minister gave us assurance that now we are together and that our struggles are their struggles. We are not new to the NDA. Earlier, when Nitish Kumar had an alliance with the BJP, we were with Nitish ji and while Nitish Kumar separated from NDA, we opposed this move. Our natural alliance is with the NDA.
Q: Isn’t your natural alliance with Nitish Kumar?
A: No, this is not true, our party started with NDA. You see, ever since Nitish Kumar left NDA, his body language, even his grip on language has become lax. Even at the administrative level, he has lost his abilities and the people around him are working to defeat him.
Q: How will your party benefit Bihar? How many seats of the Hindustani Awami Morcha does the NDA have sway over?
A: We have been working in Bihar for eight to nine years, whether it is in Saharsa, Munger, Magadh, Purnia, or Darbhanga, we have a stronghold in these areas. We also took out a yatra and got tremendous support from the people. We are constantly trying to become strong in the entirety of Bihar and obviously, the NDA will get its benefit.