'People talk about achche din, I say we all have to contribute'

North West Delhi MP Udit Raj says he is laying the foundation of participative governance in his constituency by demonstrating to aggrieved people how he raises their problems with the authorities.

“I am encouraging people to demand a more responsive governance regime,” the 56-year-old former Indian Revenue Service officer says.

This is the only way of making them feel that a change has come about after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he says.

“People talk about ‘achche din’ and I tell them that we all have to contribute and take part in governance to usher in good times together.”

I tell people that just as they raise a problem before me, I do the same with the government and show them how the Modi government responds to their problem, Udit Raj says.

He cites his recent meeting with all the three dozen municipal councillors from his parliamentary constituency, along with aggrieved people from the area for innovative disposal of grievances.

He says he is focussed on development in 50-odd unauthorised colonies, seeking extension of Metro network to rural areas and making water available to industries that have virtually shut down due to water shortage.

“If the Metro can go up to Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad, why can’t it reach Delhi areas like Narela and Qutub Garh?”

With an eye on job creation, the Dalit leader says he is working hard for three special economic zone projects for his constituency so that jobs could be created. Udit Raj, who is the head of the National Confederation of SCs/STs, says he is pushing for issues related to the role of Dalits in governance and running the country.

The MP has worked with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, a former IRS officer, in the Income Tax Department. Recalling their official association, he says Kejriwal only talks big but does not act on the ground.

“Kejriwal did not catch even a single income tax evader while he was serving in the department.”

Udit Raj, who resigned in 2003 from the IRS and formed the Indian Justice Party, says people in his constituency blame his predecessor from the Congress, Krishna Tirath, for the poor condition of the area.

“She rarely showed up in the area to attend to public problems,” he says.