‘I am not being remote-controlled by Delhi’

Seven weeks into the job, Haryana Chief
Minister Manohar Lal Khattar  lays down his agenda and priorities in an exclusive interview with Raj Chengappa, Editor-in-Chief, The Tribune Group of Newspapers, and Naveen Garewal,Haryana Bureau Chief

Did you ever dream of becoming the Chief Minister?

I never came into politics the way people get inducted into the political system. I have always worked for the organisation. In 2002, I distanced myself from politics. It was my commitment to myself to stay away from politics for two years. I wanted to see what the worldly life is like. I took up a job as Director-Finance in a company making power inverters that had a turnover of Rs 500 crore. The owner is a friend and I promised to do a two-year stint. But in a year-and-a-half, I felt I had had enough and came back to active politics. The idea was not to gain experience, it was a decision I took because I had time and my friend needed help.
There was no special feeling when I took over as Chief Minister. Earlier I used to only see how an oath was taken from a distance. That day, I took the oath from the podium.

It is believed that you were Narendra Modi’s choice to be Chief Minister.

If that’s true, it was not known to me. How I became Chief Minister is also not known to me. I was told to go and contest elections from Karnal and as a disciplined soldier of the party, I did that. Again, party observers were sent to select a leader of the BJP legislature party after it emerged as the single largest party. Two senior leaders proposed and seconded my name and I was elected unanimously. If anyone was behind these decisions, I am not aware. I was not really surprised because my name too figured among five or six probables. Everyone clapped and the rest is history.  I took the outcome in my stride and thanked the party leadership for reposing faith in my abilities. I took charge and started the journey. 
I am a simple person and do what I feel is in public interest. When I travelled to Delhi in the Shatabdi, the former chief minister said it was a publicity stunt. I have been to Delhi in the same train many times. I have been told to buy a state aircraft, but if I need to travel by air, I just take a flight. I don’t want to burden the state that is already in a financial mess due to splurging by the previous government.

How does it feel to be Chief Minister?

Earlier I used to ask things to be implemented; now the onus is on me to deliver. I always had ideas about what needs to be done for the people – even when the BJP was in coalition with Bansi Lal’s Haryana Vikas Party, I had views on what needed to be done, but we had to struggle to get things implemented. Bansi Lal used to treat us to spongy rasgullas in this very room, but we could not get things moving beyond that. I had several ideas even then and I was in a guiding mode, but now it is for me to implement those ideas.

Nearly seven weeks in office now, what are the priorities you have set?

Being new to this job, I am still learning about issues and problems of the people. People close to me generally say all is well with the system and everything is working fine. But I feel the common man is suffering in more ways than one. The common man is enduring all the hardship and he is not finding a way out of this predicament. People have a lot of expectations from us because they voted for us so that we could resolve their issues.
In my public welfare approach, I am concentrating on redressing grievances. I go to different places and organise “Janata Durbars” and I have already got over 10,000 complaints. I know in 20-30 per cent of these cases, I cannot do much as the issues are before courts. But I am evolving a public redressal system where at least the doable things can be addressed. I need to find ways to ameliorate this suffering of people by giving them an opportunity to come out of this daily drudgery, or at least lighten their burden.

You were voted in on the promise of good governance. What steps are you taking on this?

Yes, I am committed to provide transparent governance. As a first step, I am framing a transfer policy by which every government employee knows his or her career path. Transfers should not come as punishment because they are in no one’s interest. If you have to punish someone, stop his increment, suspend him, but why send him somewhere where he does not work? I am still trying to understand things before setting priorities for myself. People have lost faith in governments, in employees, in politicians and leaders. I want every public person to understand that his or her priority should be public work. We have to take the people along and my policy is clear: “People First”, which really means the “Nation First”, as the Prime Minister puts it. I am learning new things about how systems work, the government works. With every negative, there is a positive side to governance. All this is new to me.

What are the other issues that have concerned you?

I am very unhappy with the functioning of the police. This is one of the three issues that has dominated all the complaints received from people. Secondly, property matters such as disputes between relatives and non-relatives are aplenty. Issues pertaining to service matters form the third category. The previous government worked on an ad hoc basis. There are anywhere between 50,000-60,000 contractual employees who do not know if they will remain in employment. There are two batches of Patwaris and three batches of JBT teachers who have been selected but have not been given posting letters. There are about 15,000 teachers who have not been regularised. All these issues need resolution on priority.

What about tackling corruption? That is a common complaint.

We need a new system in place. People have lost faith in officers and politicians. I have declared “zero tolerance to corruption”. There are reports that politicians, officers, employees, etc, are all working as part of a system where illegal gratifications are a way of life. We will follow a top-down approach in curbing corruption and the message has gone down loud and clear. I have appealed to officers to curb their lust for money, lust for power and lust for property. People who were used to a different style of functioning are looking at me with skepticism. But I want to assure the people of the state that we will succeed in curbing illegal gratifications.
I know there is a clique of officials and others that promotes corruption. That needs to be broken and we will do it. We will educate our party workers that the government is not for the party, but for the people. Let the workers become an interface for bringing people’s issues to us rather than come with their own work. The benefit must go down first to the last in the row, who should be the first to be uplifted – the concept of “antyodaya”. People with poor education and lack of facilities must be the first to benefit in a welfare state.
What do you propose to do to cleanse the system, particularly in sanctioning CLUs?
Change is inevitable. We will use technology to minimise discretion as discretionary power breeds corruption. Why should the Chief Minister or other minister have any discretion? When you have discretion, there is temptation to misuse it. From December 25, to mark Good Governance Day, we are introducing electronic registration of properties in eight Tehsils. We will not ban Change of Land Use (CLU), the change of nature of use of land cannot be prevented. But we want to introduce transparency in this matter. When someone applies for a CLU, we will advertise and ask for objections from the people. If the project has objections, these would have to be removed and if it is clean, a CLU will be sanctioned. The revenue thus generated will go to the public exchequer instead of some individuals.

You had promised to probe Robert Vadra’s land deal, what has been done so far?

My first priority is to positively improve things. If I go after Vadra ignoring other things, then our agenda to set things in order will be derailed. We have to check corruption first. Cases much bigger than Vadra land deal have come to light. But the objective is to fix the system first. Once that is done, we can go after individuals. We have already started our journey towards this. But let me assure you that the law will take its own course.

It looks like you are going soft on Vadra. Why don’t you commit to a timeframe?

Vadra has committed irregularities and caused loss to the public exchequer, that money has to be brought back. But we need to first ensure that the loopholes in the system are plugged and then the loss to the state is recovered. I don’t want to give the impression that I am targeting a particular person or a specific family. The idea is to set the system right first. The age of my government is only 48 days, so I cannot commit to a timeframe, but I can assure you that Vadra or no Vadra, the law will take its own course once the system is in place. If we just go after one Vadra without correcting the system, there will be four more Vadras doing the same thing, causing more trouble.

What is the nature of your relationship with the Prime Minister and has he given you advice on how to run the state government?

Modiji and I worked together from 1996 to 2001. He was party incharge for North Indian states and was headquartered at Panchkula, while at the same time I was General Secretary (Organisation) in charge of Haryana. So, I understand his style of functioning. More than that, we both belong to the RSS school of thought and have worked as Sangh Parcharaks where the nation comes before self. Both of us believe in taking quick decisions, even if they subsequently prove to be not the best. Delay causes confusion, so I don’t let things linger on. After all, I may be the Chief Minister but I am human and they say ‘to err is human and to forgive divine’, so I take quick decisions in the best interest of the people. But Modiji never gave me any specific tips on how to run Haryana in that way.

Because of your closeness with the PM, there is a perception that your government is being run by remote control from Delhi?

This is absolutely wrong. When I took over, someone spread rumours that four officers were being sent from Gujarat to Chandigarh and they will run the government here. I do not take serious note of these things. And I am not remote-controlled from Delhi. I have met the Prime Minister on three occasions with others, but my one-on-one meeting is still due.

On the Rampal issue, you seemed to have delayed taking action?

It is a misconception. All I wanted was that none of the 15,000 supporters of Rampal hauled up in the dera should die. It was like two armies facing each other with one seeking protection behind women and children. This went on for five-six days. We could not have brought Rampal out by force. So we wanted to use a strategy to dry up the dera of its rations and supplies so that the people started coming out. From day one, I was clear that the orders of the High Court had to be implemented. I was in constant touch with the Union Home Minister on the developments. What is wrong in consulting the central leadership on contentious issues? They are part of the same party which is running the nation from Delhi and Haryana from here.

It is said that your relations with BJP president Amit Shah are not very good?

Says who? We are on very good terms. I have my own mind and Delhi is not controlling this government. If I have to ask the central leadership about anything, I have no hesitation in asking. We are not separate from the Centre, so why not get guidance in case of any difficulty? I declared on the floor of the House that I went to Delhi to pay a courtesy call and not to seek directions on running the government. Shouldn’t I go to Delhi?

Did your government mismanage the case of the Sonepat sisters?

There is a social problem of eve-teasing. I cannot deny there is crime against women. When the news of the Sonepat sisters fighting eve-teasers came to be known, one of the ministers announced a cash reward for bravery. There were others who felt that the state must honour the two on Republic Day. So, we announced that too. If we did not react, wouldn’t there have been criticism? It was subsequently that reports emerged about the girls having a previous history of similar nature. There were also reports that the tiff between the girls and the boys was over occupying a seat in the bus. We decided to put on hold the announcements and constituted a Special Investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter. We are waiting for the SIT to give its report before we decide what course to follow.

What steps are you taking to check the harassment of women in the state?

We are committed to security of women and violators will be dealt with sternly. The laws will be enforced and the police will make sure that women are safe. But when it comes to factors at play in society, we have to bring in corrective measures in the long run. Education has failed to give right values in life, leading to such incidents. We have to educate people on the subject and impart values of life.

Union Law Minister Sadananad Gowda has made some observations with regard to bringing in a law against the Khaps. What is your position on Khaps?

Khaps is not something that has a national character, but it is a regional system that not many people understand. They are like the panchayat system. Khaps have been in existence for the past 1,000 years and they are not bad. They have had a significant contribution is resolving social issues. But in today’s context, some of their decisions look unlawful. Whenever they go overboard, they need to be checked. I am not for a Central law on an all-India basis restricting the activities of Khaps. There is something called conventions and even law lays a lot of emphasis on conventions, so a law against Khaps is not correct. At the same time, I am against honour killings. Though modern times accept inter-caste marriages, I support a ban on same-gotra marriages as also advocated by the Khaps.

When are you going to fulfil your election promises like stipends for unemployment?

We are not happy with just giving stipends as these are not permanent measures. We would like permanent solutions and are committed to employment for all in the next five years. This does not mean that everyone will get government jobs, but we will create avenues for employment in agriculture, industry, horticulture, etc. We are trying to help small farmers become sustainable. Farming will be made lucrative through diversification where a farmer earns at least Rs 1 lakh per acre per year. Property prices are on the rise and farmers are lured into selling the land and wasting everything. But a long-term solution has to be found. Delhi being in close proximity to Haryana has a huge potential for exports and we will exploit every avenue in the interest of the unemployed youth of the state. I am committed to developing manufacturing and industry in Haryana.

What is your government’s stand on the SYL canal dispute with Punjab?

We are clear that Haryana should get water due to it through the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal. It does not appear that Punjab would like to share water with us on our asking, so we will pursue the issue in the Supreme Court and even request the Centre to help us get our rights. We also want Punjab to undo its scrapping of the water sharing agreement that guaranteed us water. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has so far not shown any “bhaichara” (brotherhood) with its neighbouring state, so we will have to try alternatives.

Finally, yours is perceived to be a U-turn government that is undoing all the decisions of the previous Hooda regime. Your comment.

The Hooda government took 182 decisions after the Lok Sabha polls to lure voters in the Assembly polls. We have only reversed the decision on retirement age from 60 to 58. We have regularised the appointment of doctors and likewise, every decision is being reviewed. This includes pay parity of employees with Punjab. If it is in the interest of the state and its people, we will implement it; else it will be scrapped. Haryana has been left in a dire financial mess and it will take time to restore its financial health.