Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is buoyant and bullish about his party’s success in the forthcoming parliamentary polls. His party has completed two years in the State; and he has enough to boast about in terms of attempts by his Government to pull the State out of the troubled waters. As the completion of two years in power almost coincides with the termination of five-year tenure by the BJP-led Government at the Centre; The Pioneer talks to him to find out what makes him so sanguine. Excerpts from the interview.
What, according to you, have been the key achievements of the Congress Government’s two-year regime?
Our biggest achievement, I think, is that we have been able to bring Punjab back from the brink of disaster on all fronts. Notwithstanding the fiscal crisis we inherited from the previous Government, we have managed to revive economy, industry and agriculture. Investor confidence has been restored, farmers are getting timely payment with on-time lifting of their foodgrains (in addition to their loan waiver), law and order is finally under control, and the backbone of the drugs mafia has been completely broken. Our employment initiatives are yielding results with a total of 5.76 lakh youth getting jobs in less than two years...VVIP culture has ended and there is transparency in all government systems and processes. We have ended transport mafia and shackled other mafias, to restore people’s trust and confidence in governance.
During Congress’ two-year tenure in Punjab, a lot has been done for the farmers, yet they continue to protest. Would it have an effect on 2019 parliamentary polls because the issue of farmers’ distress and suicide is of national significance?
Yes, we have done a lot for the farmers but, as I keep saying, it is really not enough. The Centre has refused to help out, as a result of which we are not able to implement farm debt waiver in toto. They are not ready to implement Swaminathan Commission report in totality, leading to insufficient remuneration for the farmers. Naturally, they are unhappy with the BJP, which is ruling at the Centre. But then, so is the case with every other section of the society, which feels cheated by the Narendra Modi Government. This definitely will impact BJP’s fortunes in the parliamentary elections.
Punjab shares its border with Pakistan. Would the recent air strikes by India cast a shadow on the Lok Sabha elections?
It was an important factor but there are other issues which people of India relate more closely to — such as inflation, unemployment, farmer suicides, the environment of hatred and disharmony that is prevailing today in the nation. I think these are the issues that will eventually decide which way the elections go.
Your own senior party member has close ties with Pakistan Prime Minister. How are people taking it?
Obviously people are not taking it well, because they see it as a sign of disloyalty to the nation. But let us not forget that the close ties you are talking about go far back from Imran Khan’s installation as Prime Minister. Navjot Singh Sidhu and Imran Khan have been friends from their cricketing ties, and friendship does tend to transcend all.
Centre has launched a number of schemes in the rural areas. Would it blur the efforts made by the Congress party for the people in the state?
a The people can see through the machinations of the Central Government. A handful of schemes at the fag-end of their tenure, clearly with an eye on the polls does not show their sincerity. Rather, it shows their desperation to win the polls. Our efforts, on the other hand, underline our intent to fulfil the promises we made to the people of Punjab ahead of the Assembly elections. Tell me, what was the BJP, which is now at the Centre and an ally of SAD for 10 years, doing all those years? Did they take a single initiative for the people of Punjab, in rural or urban areas? People are intelligent and can see through such tactics.
Until recently, Punjab politics was all about two parties. It may be for the first time that the state is going to witness a multi-cornered contest with the third front and fourth front springing up. What would be the effect of it on the elections?
This shift had happened even in the last Lok Sabha polls, when Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sprung a few surprises in the State. So there is really nothing new happening now.
With the Centre trying to take the credit for the Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib Corridor, do you think that it would still go in favour of the Congress party?
Kartarpur is an issue close to the hearts of the Sikh community, which is well aware that the Congress had been persistently striving to realise their dream of bringing the historic gurdwara within their reach. Dr Manmohan Singh had raised the issue during his prime ministership. I had personally pursued it with the Pak leadership during my previous term. The Centre’s bid to take credit for the corridor is only an attempt to woo the Sikhs ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, which has become a major challenge for the BJP in view of its blatantly anti-minority ideology.
The 2014 elections saw the Congress party fielding high profile candidates. What would be the Congress strategy this time?
It is not about high or low profile candidates. It is all about winning candidates. Winnability and a clean image are the key criteria that the Congress is looking at in the selection of candidates. The approach yielded excellent results for us in 2017 and the subsequent by-elections and Panchayat or urban local bodies elections in the state. We shall continue to follow the same approach for the Lok Sabha polls.
AAP changed the political scenario in the previous polls by bagging four seats in Punjab. In 2017, it pushed SAD-BJP to the third position by grabbing the position of the principal Opposition party. What effect would it have in this election?
AAP is no longer in the reckoning. It has lost the narrative completely in Punjab, as elsewhere in the country. The party has split down the middle, with neither section having any clear agenda or constructive policies. I do not see AAP having any effect, whatsoever, in this election.
As the Congress Government is still in the process of fulfilling the promises it made to the State’s youth, would the young votes still turn in the favour of the party?
I believe that young people are more intelligent than us old ones. We may not have been able to give the promised smart phones yet (though the process has been initiated) but they can see what we have done for them in terms of employment generation and elimination of the drugs menace. They can also see the all-round development going around for the last two years, and how it has transformed Punjab back into a vibrant State that is well on way to regaining its old pristine glory and ranking onthe map. I am confident they will choose the Congress anytime over parties that have not only failed to deliver to them but have actually destroyed their future in more ways than one. I do not see the youth voting for a party which is trying to divide the nation on communal lines. They want progress, which only the Congress today cangive them.
The drug menace in the State has been a perpetual poll issue and Rahul Gandhi was the first one to raise it. With the High Court calling in for revamping, restructuring and strengthening the STF, do you think that enough has been done to deal with it?
I do not look at drugs as a poll issue but an issue of serious concern for all of us in Punjab. Ending the drugs problem is a priority for my government, and for me personally. We could not let drugs continue to destroy our future generations. The STF was the result of this thinking and has done a remarkable job. Now, even as we focus on rehabilitation and treatment of the affected youth, we remain committed to further strengthening the STF, through revamping, restructuring or whatever else may be required to make it even more effective. We need to keep the pressure on, and also to get the big fish, most of whom have fled the State.
The STF, which is now functioning as an independent agency under the Punjab Police, has even more resources at hand to handle the problem more effectively.
Sacrilege and the related firing incidents had been a major issue during 2017 elections that went against SAD. The findings by Justice Ranjit Singh panel indicate roles of the Badals and laxity on the part of the state police. Do you think that the issue would still go against the Akali Dal and Badals?
These are serious issues, which people are affected by. Whether or not the Badals were actually complicit is something for the SIT to decide. But the fact is that these incidents occurred during the Akali regime, which people cannot forget. Those who lost their near and dear ones will not forgive that they failed to get justice from the SAD or the Badals.
A sense of resentment is brewing within the Congress party for allegedly going soft against the Akalis, particularly the Badals and Bikram Majithia, on the issues related with the drugs, transports mafia, cable mafia, among others. Opposition, on the other hand, alleges that nothing has been changed from the SAD-BJP’s regime. How do you respond to it?
First of all, let me make it clear that everything has changed from the previous regime. Suddenly, there is a sense of peace and happiness among the people. Develo-pment, which was at a standstill all these years, is visibly taking place now. There is improvement on all fronts, which is manifest in every segment or sector. The lawlessness that was rampant under the previous regime is a thing of the past now. The transport mafia has been destroyed well and truly, cable mafia does not exist and drugs mafia has not back to stand on. So how can you say things haven’t changed? The only change that one can say is there — unlike earlier, I have made it clear I will not indulge in political vendetta, which was a common theme under the SAD-BJP regime.
There has been a sense that the bureaucracy has been given more powers, while the MLAs and the leaders of the ruling party were hardly being heard. You have also, time to time, issued instructions asking the officers to respect the leaders. Even the funds for the districts have been made available to the DCs. How do you react to this?
There is no problem at all between the MLAs and the bureaucracy, with both playing equally important roles in the welfare of the citizens. I have made it clear to both that they need to work together, in the interest of the people, and rest assured, things are moving smoothly. As far as the development funds to DCs are concerned, we have made these funds available to them to execute various projects in their districts. But don’t forget, the MLAs are the ones who have been asked to identify most the projects that need to be implemented, in accordance with the priorities they have decided.
In the two years, some of your Cabinet Ministers had hit the headlines for the wrong reasons — Rana Gurjit Singh was made to resign from the Cabinet, Navjot Singh Sidhu is raising a new controversy every other day, and now Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Is it affecting the Government or the party in any way?
Let me make it clear, Rana Gurjit was not made to resign, he chose to resign because he did not want the government’s image to be sullied in any way. As for the others, the media likes to read controversy even if a Minister so much as opens his mouth, forgetting that we are functioning in a democracy, where everyone has the right to voice their opinion. And that is the way things work in my party and my government — I refuse to scuttle their voices. Difference of opinion makes for healthy democracy, which is all it’s about.
Talking about Patiala seat, your apprehensions regarding AAP candidate Dharamvir Gandhi being a strong candidate turned true. He is again contesting from your home constituency as Punjab Democratic Alliance candidate. How the Congress has planned to deal with him and win back the seat this election?
2014 was a period of the AAP wave in Punjab, as in many other places. Dharamvir Gandhi also rode that wave to win the election from Patiala. Since then, AAP has become a non-player and Gandhi, in any case, is contesting from a party that is a split faction of AAP. I do not see the people of Patiala voting either from AAP or Punjab Democratic Alliance this time. They are going to vote for development, which they have seen, in the last two years, being delivered by the Congress. I am confident people of Patiala, like in the other Lok Sabha seats in the state, will vote for progress, which means they will vote for the Congress.
