I'll donate a Nano to Rahul: Nitin Gadkari

Netas declaring modest assets before the Election Commission is a farce feels BJP state president Nitin Gadkariu00a0u00a0

Mumbai's Flyover Man is highly annoyed with his fellow politicians. Nitin Gadkari, who is the leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council and is credited with the construction of more than 55 flyovers in the city, lashes out at netas who have made excessively modest asset claims in an interview with Ranjitt Khomne and Sanjeev Devasia...

Excerpts
Why are you upset over assets declared by certain politicians?
I am appalled to learn that Sonia Gandhi does not have a house, Rahul Gandhi does not have a car and Sharad Pawar does not own an acre of land. Hence, the BJP will soon start a fund-raising campaign to donate a Nano to Rahul. I will even chip in the first Rs 101.

But Pawar is known as a grassroots politician...
He calls himself bhumiheen (landless). What kind of a farmer politician does that make him? I own 47 acres of agriculture land and have 2500 orange trees all in my name. We may have to provide him with 35 kg of foodgrains when we come to power.

What is the most important election issue for the BJP?
Load-shedding. In rural areas, people are not in favour of the Congress-NCP, as they suffer from 12 to 18 hours of power cuts.

Do you have a solution?
I generate and supply Rs 16 crore worth of power to Reliance Energy every month. There are many entrepreneurs like me and the government must make good use of us. In the power sector, there is no need of government investment. If they have the will, they can make things work. But when there is no will, there are only surveys.

But you have never raked the issue before...u00a0u00a0
I publicly said that Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Sharad Pawar have only given us invertors, generators and candles.

Despite promoting development-oriented politics, the BJP is still seen as a communal party...
We have never poached land meant for a Dargah, Wakf land, Idgah, etc. During our tenure, we threw open 12 airports to Haj pilgrims. If we are in power again, we will allow development of engineering colleges on Wakf land. The Congress turned the Muslim youth into tea vendors and mechanics. We want them to learn computers and go to English-medium schools.

Your appeal to the youth to join politics has also received a lukewarm response...
Good people must come into politics. I am an MBA gold medallist and I joined politics out of conviction. I believe power is instrumental for socio-economic reforms.

What is your take on the IPL?
R R Patil banned bar dancers saying they were vulgar. But his party boss Sharad Pawar has brought in cheerleaders through the IPL, who lift their hands at every four and legs at every six hit. I raised this issue in the House, but nobody paid heed to it. If the guru (Pawar) encourages vulgarity what can his chela (Patil) do?

What are your plans for Mumbai?
Through the toll plazas, the government can generate revenue running into thousands of crores, which can be used for infrastructure development. We will make all infrastructure projects tax-free in Maharashtra. By introducing a public-private participation in tourism, education, hospitals and adventure sports you can turn recession on its head.