'Dadoji was Shivaji's caretaker, not guru'

Grilled by MiD DAY, Rajpal explains away controversies, puts forth plan for development

Mayor Mohansingh Rajpal has been surrounded by controversies for quite some time now. Just a few days ago, he was the target of Shiv Sena-BJP violence over the Dadoji Konddeo statue controversy.

On the first day of the New Year, Team MiD DAY grilled the Mayor, going into each and every controversy that he has seen in his year in office. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Why have you been surrounded by so many controversies during your tenure?
I want to do good work for the people but some people want to create mischief and ensure that I'm not able to achieve that. They are the ones who create controversy.

What is your stand on the Dadoji Konddeo statue and controversy?
See, Dadoji was merely the caretaker of Shivaji, but the Brahmins are trying to project him as his guru. In fact, when James Laine was writing his book, some Brahmin scholars were helping him write and they wrote Dadoji was Shivaji's biological father. Naturally, Marathas got upset as Shivaji belonged to Marathas. And since the majority is Maratha, we took decision to move the statue out of Lal Mahal.

Is Shivaji a Maratha idol or for the entire Maharashtrian people?
Shivaji is idol for entire Maharashtra, but he was a Maratha warrior and king first.

You seem to be in favour of Marathas and not Brahmins. Isn't this communalism?
No, I'm not against any sect, but I think the Marathas have been wronged. Also, they are majority.

Aren't you playing vote bank politics to get the majority sect's sympathy?
No, it is not so. Our party has never played vote bank politics.

Why did the statue get moved in the middle of the night and who took the decision?
We only passed the resolution to move the statue. It was the administration that decided on timing.

What according to you is a growing problem in the city?
Migration. Too many outsiders have come in. About 60 per cent population is migrant, there are fewer original Punekars living. Because of this people don't care about each other, crimes are rising, unemployment is rising among locals as jobs are taken by outsiders.

You seemed very influenced by Sena-MNS ideologies of Maratha cause and migration. Are you trying to steal their election issues?
No. I'm not influenced by those parties. We've always been concerned about migration and cause of Maratha and raised our voice for them.

You were in the news for a major part of last year, but for all the wrong reasons. You spent most of your time in making contributions to cultural fests rather than doing any real work...
Pune is a cultural city and being the first Sikh mayor I wanted to celebrate Baisakhi and other festivals on big scale for people's sake.
But some mischief-makers tried to tarnish my reputation.

What happened to inquiries of graft against you? It was alleged that you bent rules to make contributions for fests.
No rules were flouted and the inquiry committee found me innocent. I even returned the cash I had taken.

But isn't it true that you took along the person who did the inquiry against you to a free holiday in Germany?
Yes, so what? He is my friend, so I took him. And we paid for it from our personal account.

So your friend was chosen to inquire against you?
I didn't chose him or influence that decision.

What is you vision for 2011?
I want Pune to be a green city. I want that firstly the traffic problem be solved and also I want to start new initiatives to make Pune a tourism hub.

What is happening to the long-standing proposal of water transport on Mula-Mutha river?
Yes, Ajit Pawar had given us this excellent idea but we need money for it. We require at least Rs 1,200 crore, for which we will request the state government.

Are you under pressure from NCP's central leadership on decisions taken for Pune?
No they never pressurise me. But I talk to Ajit Pawar every alternate day and tell him of situation here. But my real idol is Mr Sharad Pawar. I idolise him and follow his footsteps.

Talking about Mr Pawar, have you studied the Lavasa project, as there are allegations that it will lead to water shortage in Pune?
No, I haven't studied it and I don't believe in the news. Pune's water shortage will be solved by three dams we're building.

So who is running Pune, the Mayor or Mr Pawar?
The people of Pune.