Chandigarh, September 13
"The first thing I did on becoming Chief Minister was to prepare a roadmap to make Haryana the number one state in the country and I am glad the state is already marching ahead in this direction”. Bhupinder Singh Hooda considers this as the biggest achievement during the first half of his tenure. His priority for the second half is acceleration of the pace of development in the state.

In an interview to The Tribune, Hooda says it is his passion to create as many job opportunities in the state as possible. "I will be satisfied with my performance as Chief Minister only if there is no unemployed person in the state. This is possible only by rapid industrialisation, improvement in the quality of education and a quantum jump in the quality of technical training imparted to the youth of the state, among other things." There is no field in which his government's performance has not been up to his expectations.

Hooda says the words of Rabindranath Tagore — "Where minds are without fear" -- made a deep impression on him in his student days. "Only a mind without fear can give its best. Therefore, I had promised before the elections that if the Congress came to power, its first priority would be to end the atmosphere of fear which prevailed in the state for five years before the perpetrators of fear were ousted from power. The promise was kept within days of coming to power.

“Now, no industrialist lives in the fear of trenches being dug out in front of his unit. No house-owner is scared that any powerful politician will take fancy to his building. No officer now comes knocking at the doors of businessmen seeking funds for political rallies. No vehicles are being impounded to ferry people to political rallies. People go about their daily lives without fear of any illegal intervention by the government."

All this, along with steps like the single-window clearance system and the provision of deemed sanction, he says, have helped in creating an atmosphere conducive for rapid industrialisation of the state. While an investment of Rs 40,000 crore came to the state in 40 years, the last two and a half years saw an actual investment of Rs 28,000 crore, with much more in the pipeline.

On his promise to usher in a corruption-free state, Hooda claims the raids conducted by the vigilance authorities on corrupt officials during his tenure have been much more extensive than in the past. Even senior officers of the ranks of superintending engineer, executive engineer, HCS officer, tehsildar and naib-tehsildar have been raided.

“Corruption cannot be eradicated without the cooperation of citizens. Unless they stand up, it is impossible to do so”. Hooda says he will direct his officers to ensure that the legitimate work of a complainant in a vigilance case is done on a priority basis so that more and more people are encouraged to come forward to help the vigilance authorities to trap corrupt officials.

Asked why the Opposition is claiming to the contrary if the government has done so much good work, Hooda says it is for the first time in the state that the Opposition has no issue to criticise the government. The Opposition is only trying to make issues of non-issues to keep its diminishing cadres busy. Whenever, it tried to launch any agitation on non-issues, there was no popular support.

Hooda has "neither time, nor inclination" to discuss the activities of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and his MP son Kuldeep Bishnoi. "My leader has directed me to carry on development works, unmindful of the activities of such persons. I am doing that", Hooda says in a matter of fact manner.

On the projection of the next elections as "non-Jats versus Jats" by certain leaders, particularly Bishnoi, the Chief Minister says the ploy is merely an attempt to attract disgruntled persons, who could not find a place in the new set-up. Those who practised caste-based politics have not succeeded in the past. The people of Haryana are not guided by caste considerations when it comes to voting. They appreciate good governance.

Moreover, Hooda says, the Congress has never indulged in caste politics. Otherwise, it would not have made a person, whose community's strength in the state is just half a per cent of the population, Chief Minister for more than a decade.

Asked whether he will terminate the 1994 Yamuna water accord as demanded by the Indian National Lok Dal, he frowns momentarily. But he immediately regains his cool and poses a counter question: "What prevented the INLD from terminating the accord when it was in power for five years?"

He concedes that the accord signed by Bhajan Lal had seriously compromised Haryana's interests. The 1954 accord broadly gave Haryana a two-thirds share in the Yamuna water and U.P. one-third. But in the 1994 accord, Haryana's share was reduced to less than 50 per cent. But, the so-called 1994 accord, he says, remains merely a draft agreement at best because it was never signed by Rajasthan. "It is foolish on the part of the INLD to demand that Haryana should terminate something which does not exist as a legal entity so far," he adds.

When asked why the people, who perceive him as a "gentleman politician", accuse him of having left the bureaucracy unbridled, Hooda says Haryana has seen some chief ministers who were bullies. He says by virtue of his education and the values imbibed from his family since his childhood, he cannot be foul-mouthed and is not given to histrionics. "I don't have to use the power of my vocal cords as I have the power of my pen to discipline a delinquent bureaucrat," he says nonchalantly.

Power remains a major source of worry for the Chief Minister. Hooda says the demand has been increasing by leaps and bounds every year. His government's efforts during the last two and a half years are about to bear fruits. Things will start improving from November. "It is my promise that the state will be self-sufficient, if not surplus, in the power sector before the next Assembly elections”.

In reply to a question, the Chief Minister says confidently, "The Haryana Congress is ready to face an early election to the Lok Sabha, unlike the Opposition in the state which is in a disarray".