BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is not one to mince his words. In an interview with HuffPost India, the outspoken leader spoke of BJP’s victory in Uttar Pradesh, Hindutva, his relationship with Arun Jaitley, and his anti-corruption crusade amongst other things.

Did not expect the landslide

Swamy admitted that he didn’t expect the BJP to cross 300 seats after the first phase of campaigning. “My advice to the party was that governance is a necessary condition for achieving electoral victory, not a sufficient condition. For sufficient, you needed some sentimental issues. For us, for the BJP, the sentimental issue was Hindutva. And unless we articulate that, we will not be able to win,” he said.

Admitting that the party could not have done it without Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swamy said that Modi wasn’t the only factor behind the BJP’s victory. “We articulated this Hindutva—of uniting the Hindus and dividing the minorities. That was a reversal of the Congress Party [strategy] of dividing the Hindus and uniting the minorities. For the next Lok Sabha election we will definitely package it thus—fighting corruption, Hindutva and governance,” he added.

Yogi wasn’t the first choice

After the first round of campaigning, the BJP discovered that the people were cold and disappointed with the party for not raising the Hindutva issue. During this time, the party had still not considered Yogi Adityanath as the chief ministerial candidate.

Even after the victory, the party had selected Manoj Sinha. “MLAs started going and telling people who were making the decision, essentially the RSS, Amit Shah and so on. Then, Modi changed his mind,” added Swamy.

Can’t do without Modi

Swamy added that the party can’t do without Narendra Modi because he is a man who has made a name. “He has good habits, and he is a good man. We think well off him. But we don't think that by himself he can deliver a victory because no individual is like that. He spoke only of governance and that was not enough. So, I would say, Modi, Hindutva and anti-corruption,” he added.

Political correctness is dead

While addressing how Prime Minister Narendra Modi had softened his stance on Hindutva after assuming top office, Swamy felt that political correctness was no longer a virtue. “The Trump phenomenon should now disabuse you of any such thing. Political correctness is no longer a virtue. Say it like it is. Political correctness is dead,” he added.

Congress are finishing themselves

Speaking about a Congressmukht Bharat, Swamy asked if there was any system where the family is the only supplier of leaders? “It is doomed to failure in India. We need people to come from all walks of life,” he added. “The Congress Party will recover, but they [Gandhi family] are finished. Somebody will come up and throw them out. It will not be before 2029. But we've got it made. This Hindutva will take us till then,” Swamy stated.

Anti-Romeo squad a bad name

Swamy went on to speak of the anti-Romeo squads and said that someone who didn’t know English probably wrote the BJP manifesto for Uttar Pradesh. “Romeo was very steady to one woman. The man sacrificed his life for one love. I think if it is a government squad, no problem, but we can't allow people to take law into their own hands under any circumstances,” he said.

On the GST

Swamy said that he would challenge the Goods and Service Tax Network as anti-national that violates his fundamental rights. “When fundamentals are being shaken, you have to speak up. And I can speak up because I know law and economics. And it [GSTN] is not even ours, it is Chidambaram's,” he said.

Raghuram Rajan was a disaster

Swamy, who was vocal about Raghuram Rajan’s appointment as the RBI Governor, said that he was a disaster for India. “The guy does not know any economics and he's got all these crazy business school ideas that he was putting on the macro-economics of India. He was driving all the medium and small-scale industries into red. And, I can say it because I have impeccable academic credentials. I'm not some Love Jihad vigilante,” he said.

About Arun Jaitley

Swamy said his issues with Jaitley stem from the fact that the latter talks behind his back. “I don't like that. He can't say I'm corrupt, I'm illiterate and I'm a fool. But he'll say that Swamy is telling everybody that Trump is going to win the election, what does he know about America. That kind of thing. If he stops that, I'll stop it,” he said.

Would love to be finance minister

Swamy believes that as finance minister, he would turn the country around. “Today, there was a Question and Answer from the Commerce Ministry — exports and imports have simultaneously declined, year after year, for the past three years. How can the exports and imports both decline? It means we're heading for a crash. I think the economy needs rescuing,” he said.