New Delhi, May 8: Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh has questioned the current decision-making process in the party saying that people have little role in it any more. He has also taken a dig at Tourism & Culture Minister Ambika Soni for her Ministry’s stance on the controversial Ram Sethu issue.

In an interview to Kanhaiyalal Nandan who has edited a book on Arjun Singh, titled Mohin Kahan Vishram (No Rest for Me), the HRD Minister said the decision-making process in the party got “disintegrated” with the result that people have no compunction in violating it. The interview is part of the book, which is scheduled to be released by President Pratibha Patil tomorrow.

Asked how he takes instructions of the High Command in politics, Singh said once the party took a view, he abided by it completely and tried to work according to instructions. Referring to decision-making he said: “Uske nirmit hone tak main samajhta hoon ki isme swatantrata hai ki wah kaisa bane, isme yogdan dein. Pehle iske liye bahut jyada avsar hua karte the. Bade se bada nirnaya Congress ka isi prakriya se hokar gujarta tha. Log usko manate the. Aaj wah prakriya thodi si bikhar gayi hai aur isliye jab logon mein yah bhavana nahin rahati ki iske banane mein unka bhi yogdan hai to uska ullanhgan karne mein bhi unko koi dikkat nahin hoti. (Until the decision is made, I understand there is freedom about how it should be made and how to contribute to this process. There used to be a lot of scope for this earlier. Even the major decisions of the Congress followed this process. People followed it. Today, that process has got disintegrated a little and, therefore, when people do not feel they had a role in the making of the decision, they also have no difficulty violating it).”

Asked about his views on Sethudamudram project, the HRD Minister said it was a question of faith. “Ram Sethu ke bare mein itna hi kah dena kaafi tha ki is vishaya par etihasik praman uplabdha nahin hain. Ulte kah diya gaya ki uska itihas nahin hai. (On Ram Sethu, it was enough to say that there is no historical evidence on this subject. On the contrary, it was said that it has no history),” said Singh. Asked if “Madam” (Soni) made a mistake, Singh said, “Madam is not at fault on this. It was the carelessness of officials. It (the controversial affidavit) should have been seen properly.” Soni has claimed she had made corrections which were not incorporated.