Kalraj Mishra, back as union minister and at 73 among the most senior BJP MPs from UP, discusses law and order in his home state and his ministry?s vision of achchhe din:
MP from your party R K Singh has said UP is a fit case for President?s rule. Do you agree?
I am in favour of only a decision that is taken on the basis of the governor?s report. There is a constitutional government. But due to poor functioning of the government, there is a situation of anarchy in the state. But it is up to the governor what report he sends to the central government.
What is your personal opinion on the situation in UP?
If I have to give my personal opinion I will give it to the government. At this stage I can only say that I am a minister in the union government and the UP government too is a constitutional government. I have no moral right to seek the dismissal of the state government.
Your party was hugely successful in the Lok Sabha polls in UP but is weak in the assembly. How do you see the BJP?s future in the next assembly?
The public in UP has become fed up with the present government. People need change. I am sure that whenever the next assembly elections are held, people will break caste barriers and give the BJP a majority.
You have now been appointed Minister for Mirco, Small and Medium industries. What is your vision for bringing achchhe din?
Ours is a huge country and the number of unemployed youth is so huge that if you could bring them to one place, they would look like a country by themselves. It is very difficult to give jobs to all. The government wants to promote micro, small and medium units to make people self-dependent. Our effort is to take the youth from unemployment to self-employment. We give support to micro enterprises that are being run like cottage units and also encourage and support small entrepreneurs.
What challenges have you identified for your ministry?
I have realised that entrepreneurs have to take no-objection certificates from several ministries. There are lending problems as well and these processes take time. We want to start a single-window facility to resolve these issues but there are many problems. Several departments will have to be coordinated for time-bound approval from their side. We are taking these things forward.
How much time will it take?
At this stage I cannot give any time-frame. But I can say that if we are able to do this, my department?s role will be clear after five years. Considering the extent of unemployment, we need more tool rooms, more NSICs, more training facilities. We want to encourage small entrepreneurs, liberate them from all types of complexities. We have to take special care of the unregistered sector.
What if there are problems in Centre-state coordination?
It is too early to answer that. If necessary, I will speak to chief ministers of states where there is a problem. We have to deal with it state to state, as per requirement.
