Veerappa Moily, former Karnataka CM and the man in the thick of the Congress’s election campaign, was at the Express for an Idea Exchange. In this session moderated by Special Correspondent D.K. Singh, Moily speaks about the party’s ‘Jai Ho’ theme song, the Third Front and the Congress’s electoral chances

•D.K. Singh: Congress’s ‘Jai Ho’ theme song reminds one of the NDA’s ‘India Shining’ campaign.

This is not our only theme. As in any war, you fight on different fronts—this is one such front. This is a song that caught the public’s imagination. It reflects a predominant theme that the Congress is using. I do not think it is a big issue, I do not think it will go against us.

•Maneesh Chibber: This general election is being perceived as one without pan-India issues. What are the issues the Congress will use to appeal to the voters?

We cannot say there are no pan-India issues. The BJP has raised the issue of Hindutva again. Terrorism is an issue and so is nuclear deal and communalism. There was only one aspect of terrorism earlier—terrorists would attack us from across the border. But now there is the terrorism of militant groups that might be a part of the BJP or the Sangh Parivar. Terrorism is born out of communalism and will further divide the country. Then comes the question of identity politics. It is fine till it is about a particular region or caste but, again, it will go against the national interest. The country is the largest, stable democracy in the world and the major contributor to that is the Congress which has governed the country for 45 years on its own. Today, there is a threat to that stability and to the country’s prosperity. We can face the external enemy but many times, the enemy exists within the country and then it becomes very difficult to tackle. For example, the kind of statements Varun Gandhi has made is a reflection of the mindset of the Sangh Parivar and the BJP. These are all national issues that the Congress has to fight. Then come the Left. They have released a manifesto saying they are against the nuclear deal. Suppose the Third Front comes to power, which won’t happen, but if it they do, then the nuclear deal will be done away with. The Front will create grounds for caste politics. I am not against regional politics but caste politics, identity politics go against the concept of Indian nationalism. Whenever the Third Front has attempted to form the government, the idea of India is lost. Whenever the BJP has come to power, the same happens. I think these are turbulent issues that the Congress has to fight against.

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