Mumbai, Jan 4 (IANS) Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, stated on Sunday that there should be no issue with Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s foreign visits, emphasising that the world is interested in learning about India and that the MP is effectively presenting the country’s position on an international stage.

In an interview with IANS, Chavan also slammed the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, calling it the “most corrupt government” in the state.

He also commented on Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s remarks about corruption allegations, India’s relations with Bangladesh, BCCI asking Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to drop Bangladeshi player, and the US strikes on Venezuela.

The following are the excerpts from the interview:

IANS: Rahul Gandhi is again on a foreign visit. The BJP has levelled up its ‘anti-India’ allegations against the LoP. What do you have to say about this?

Prithviraj Chavan: If people are inviting Rahul Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP), to get information about what’s happening in India, then there should not be any problem with this.

Perhaps no one invites Amit Shah, and maybe no one even used to invite PM Modi or give him a visa previously. Now that he has become Prime Minister, he receives the visa and is fully utilising it by going on several foreign visits. In future, if he does not remain the Prime Minister, then maybe he will stop getting the visa again.

Rahul Gandhi is presenting India’s stance and situation on the international platform; then there is nothing wrong with it. The world also wants to know what is going on in India, and if democracy is even alive here. So if, as LoP, Rahul Gandhi is informing them, there should not be any problem.

IANS: Ajit Pawar has justified giving tickets to candidates with criminal backgrounds for civic polls, claiming he himself faced allegations of orchestrating a Rs 70,000 crore irrigation scam, and asserted no one is a criminal until proven guilty. What is your take on this?

Prithviraj Chavan: The alliance of three parties is ruling Maharashtra, and this is the most corrupt government of the state; there is no doubt about this. I won’t comment on any specific leader. Even the Prime Minister himself had put a stamp on the allegations of the Rs 70,000 crore scam. So, I don’t think there needs to be any evidence apart from this.

IANS: India’s relations with Bangladesh are turbulent, given the situation of minorities in the neighbouring nation. What part do you think the foreign policy plays in all this?

Prithviraj Chavan: Our relations with the neighbouring nations have deteriorated in recent times due to our foreign policies. The Bangladesh player who was going to play IPL this time was asked to be dropped by the BCCI. The sports situation with Bangladesh might soon turn like that with Pakistan.

I don’t understand why we are trying to make enemies of our neighbouring countries. India is a huge nation, and our neighbouring nations are small; we do not have anything to fear, and hence, we should maintain good relations with all of them.

IANS: Amid the outrage over the KKR buying Bangladeshi player Mustafizur Rahman, the BCCI has asked the team management to drop the player. Do you think this is right?

Prithviraj Chavan: This is a kind of economic sanction. In the IPL, if a player is sanctioned or selected, he receives an amount of around Rs 8-10 crore as fees or allowance, which benefits the country he belongs to. In that sense, it can be seen as India playing its politics through the BCCI.

If a player worth Rs 8-9 crore is dropped, then it clearly means that we are taking an action against Bangladesh, which will deteriorate our relations. Just like the situation we have with Pakistan, it seems our relations with Bangladesh will also become the same. I don’t understand what kind of foreign policy this is that we are following.

IANS: The US attacked Venezuela and “captured” its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. US President Donald Trump has also announced that the US will run Venezuela during the transition period. How do you see this? What should be India’s stance on this?

Prithviraj Chavan: There has been tension between Venezuela and the United States for several days. President Trump has said that for a long time, people have been entering the United States illegally from Venezuela, with millions arriving, and that drugs are also being smuggled from there. To stop drug trafficking, a decision was taken to carry out certain actions.

Around midnight on Saturday, the US Special Forces carried out an operation in Venezuela. They bombed ports and airports and, through a precise operation, took President Nicolas Maduro and his wife to the United States.

Also, to distract people from the Epstein Files issue, the US administration has done this.

I hope India makes a wise decision regarding this matter. EAM S. Jaishankar should adopt a prudent stance, as we are a large economy and can choose between abstaining from taking sides or contributing to peace.

–IANS

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