AAP has taken everyone for a ride, says VK Singh

Gen (retd) V K Singh of the BJP has many reasons to smile as he emerged victorious with a whopping 5.67 lakh margin of votes from the Ghaziabad Lok Sabha seat in his maiden electoral battle. He tells Sagar Kulkarni of Deccan Herald that welfare of the armed forces will be foremost on his agenda.

How would you describe your journey from the bullet to the ballot?

After retiring from the Army, I had two options. One was to play golf, hit the cocktail circuit and keep criticising the system and the rot that had set in. The second option was to utilise 42 years of my experience in the Army to bring about a change. I chose the latter.

Were you also associated with Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement?
Yes, I had set up the Janata­ntrik Morcha and sought to reach out to the youth, farmers and other sections of society. I joined Anna Hazare in his fight against corruption and supported the agitation for the setting up of a Lokpal. After the Lokpal Bill was passed by Parliament, I received requests from people to be their voice through the ballot. I was looking for a nationalist party and realised that the BJP was the only one.

You raised a number of national security issues during your tenure as Army chief. Will you pursue your unfinished agenda in your new role as member of the Lok Sabha?
Our agenda is that of development and bringing about a systemic change. The people of the country have reposed enormous faith in us and we have to live up to their expectations.

You had also raised issues related to defence preparedness and shortage of ammunition for the armed forces during your tenure. Tell us about it.
We will take steps to address all these issues. But the foremost task would be to boost the morale of the armed forces.
The men in uniform do not get the respect they deserve. Similar is the case of ex-servicemen. Their welfare would be given top priority.

You have won with a huge margin. Whom do you credit for your victory?
The people of Ghaziabad. I had released a small manifesto for the constituency, which lags behind in development. My priority would be to ensure
development of the constituency.

How would you assess the performance of the Aam Aadmi Party?
From whatever we have seen of them so far, I can only say that the party has sought to take everyone for a ride.