•Coomi Kapoor: You seem to attract controversies. But as a politician, how do you define yourself?
Whatever the controversy, I believe one should have the courage to speak the truth as one grows older. As you gain experience you must learn to stand up and say what you believe in with conviction and that does not come without knowledge and understanding of the subject. It does not matter if you are wrong. I am a reluctant and accidental politician. I believe this is God’s revenge for my treating politics with contempt for many years. Now that I am in this, I am wired to my constituency and my people—they are like my extended family. I love arguing with them, celebrating with them, fighting with and for them.
•Coomi Kapoor: Tell us about your clash with the Planning Commission, the Finance Ministry and the PMO on the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme). Your opponents charge you with promoting the biscuit lobby as opposed to hot cooked meals.
It is very sad that after 60 years of Independence and 10 five-year plans, we are still faced with sub-Saharan type malnutrition. It is a collective shame that we have done so little. Simply because children do not vote, no one speaks for them. The fact is, malnutrition exists. This is not a report written by me, it is a report by the National Family Health Survey. It is important for us to understand this problem and deal with it because by 2020 India will have the youngest productive population in the world. An ageing China, a drastically ageing Germany, an ageing Japan are having problems recasting labour and employment rules, and are bringing back people from retirement. And we have the advantage because we have a younger population. So it is important that we invest in our children. But we have mind-boggling infant mortality and depressing figures in maternal mortality. How bad is it that a country which can put Chandrayaan into orbit cannot have women delivering babies safely? As minister for WCD, I am laying down a road map so that by 2015 our youth will be healthy.
... contd.
Epaper
Newsletter
Stocks
Weather
Horoscope
