Politics will give Sanjay some sense: Priya Dutt(Video part 1 and 6)
By: Ranjitt Khomne and Sanjeev Devasia Date: 2009-03-16
Priya Dutt was four months pregnant with her first son Siddharth when Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked her to take the plunge into politics. The seat from the then Mumbai North West constituency was vacant for six months after Priya's father Sunil Dutt, who held the seat for five terms, died of a heart attack in 2005.
Priya not only accepted the challenge, but also beat Shiv Sena stalwart Madhukar Sarpotdar by 1,72,043 votes in the ensuing by-polls. Excited about the upcoming elections, the Congress probable from the newly-carved Mumbai North Central seat speaks to Ranjitt Khomne and Sanjeev Devasia about her achievements as an MP, her late father and her brother Sanjay Dutt who has announced his foray into politics.
Priya Dutt (42) believes sitting on the fence and blaming someone does not help anyone. Nargis and Sunil Dutt's daughter, Priya says she joined the system to make a difference.
Did you know you had some politics in you? I had no idea about politics. I was only 19 when I joined my father on the 78-day peace march from Mumbai to Amritsar across 2,700 km in 1987. But I was deep into social work through the Nargis Dutt Cancer Foundation.
You took over from your dad. Anything you would want to unlearn?(Thinks). Yes, my father was quite naive; he was a very bad judge of character. Although, I welcome everybody to work with me, I hope I am cautious enough.
How have the past three years as an MP been?It has been a great learning experience. I realised that a collective effort is a must for any change. I joined the system to understand and use it for the larger good. If you are sitting on the fence, you end up blaming others and that does not help anybody.
How do you rate yourself as a politician?Initially, I got a lot of flak as a politician. No matter what you do, something still remains undone. I choose not to promise, but deliver and I do succeed. Still, I keep my fingers crossed overconfidence does not pay in politics.
Do you think it's good for your brother Sanjay Dutt to join politics?Now that he has taken the plunge, let him do that. It will give him some sense of reality. If he does turn into a politician, we will be two politicians from one family in different parties. That's it.
Do you think he is being swayed?No (laughs). I don't think so. He is not a young lad to get swayed.
What will be the single-most important issue on which you will fight the election?Development. The working class must get a fair deal. The skywalks, the flyovers and the redevelopment of Andheri station will benefit citizens. Despite my efforts, the BMC has not yet taken up the beautification of the Bandra Talao which is full of stench. I took up the beautification of Versova lake, but it was stalled due to some CRZ rules even though we did not plan any construction there. But citizens, especially the youth, must join hands to get things done.
Was your participation in the public protest after the 26/11 terror attacks one such effort?Not really. It was spontaneous. I spoke up because I could not keep silent after seeing Mumbai being attacked and held ransom like that. The gangwars and shootouts did not affect all Mumbaikars directly, but this attack did. Everybody felt the same thing this city is no longer what we thought it was.
How do you strike a balance between slums and the elite in your area?Slumdwellers are very much aware as voters. They know who and what is good for them. They are very keen and discuss and debate to elect or defeat their representative because it affects their lives directly. I have tried to do certain things for both the segments.
Like?The resettlement of the residents of Irla nullah after the 2005 floods. Now, the challenge is the successfully shifting the 80,000 hutments from the Sahar (airport area) to Kurla. But working for slumdwellers remains my biggest challenge. It takes a lot of effort to understand their psyche and convince them. They are very vulnerable.
But slums continue to grow in the city? We need zero-tolerance towards any encroachments. People flock to this city because their own state is unable to provide employment to them. We must plug loopholes in the slum rehabilitation schemes. I think MPs across party lines from Mumbai must form a core group to get the city a fair deal from the state and the Centre.
What about the middle-class?It feels sandwiched between the upper and the lower strata of society. Despite my best efforts, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link is yet to be a reality. Though I never interfered in postings and transfers, I pestered the BMC to get enough pavements and redevelop the 100-odd citizen parks and open spaces for senior citizens and kids. We got tiles installed on bylanes because school kids use them and they get filled with dirt and muck during the rains.
http://www.mid-day.com/poll2009/2009/mar/160309-News-Mumbai-Priya-Dutt-Sanjay-Dutt-Mumbai-North-West-constituency-MP-Congress.htm
Edited by Zareena - 16 years ago
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