Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, 48, has been at the centre of a storm raised by his cousin and Finance Minister Manpreet Badal over the issue of debt waiver by the Centre. Sukhbir had kept mum on the issue till he built party support for himself and isolated Manpreet. A confident Sukhbir then spoke exclusively to Editor-in-Chief Raj Chengappa on the debt issue and the key challenges facing the state.
Excerpts:There is a huge controversy over the offer of the debt waiver by the Centre for the state. What is your position on this?
The Chief Minister has met the Prime Minister, the Union Finance Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission a number of times over the issue not only now but also in his previous tenure. Firstly, because of the militancy years, when we fought for the nation, we suffered a huge debt. Secondly, Punjab has a disadvantage because of the hill states around it. Whether it is Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal or Uttarakhand — all get huge incentives given by the Centre. Our industry is also heading to these states. Even my wife raised in Parliament that Punjab’s debt needed to be looked into. The Centre should look at us with that view as its policy on incentives has affected us.
So are you for or against the debt waiver?
Nobody can be against the debt waiver. But what we want to know, as the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary clarified, is what is the Centre’s offer. We do not have an official offer stating whether it is Rs 35,000 crore or just Rs 3,000 crore. And whether there are any pre-conditions or not. Once we know what the amount is and the conditions are, only then can we respond. We cannot respond on just hearsay. We are a government. We cannot think of the ifs and buts. We want to be clear first what is the offer in writing. There is no direct communication to the Chief Minister. As the Chief Minister has said once the offer is there, it will be placed before the party and the government will look into it. At the moment, it is too premature to say what is going to happen.
But Manpreet had said that there was a meeting of the Cabinet to discuss the waiver offer by the Centre?
The Cabinet has been meeting at regular intervals to look into the financial aspects of the state and many subjects were discussed. There was no specific Cabinet meet to discuss just the waiver. The Chief Minister had mentioned a number of times at Cabinet meetings that he had been discussing a waiver with the Centre. And he had gone on record and written so many letters. He also met the Union Finance Minister along with a delegation. They raised some queries. Our officers answered them. And these interactions are still on.
As the party president, were you briefed by Manpreet?
The Chief Minister has already said that there had been no written communication to us from the Centre about the waiver. We have always been asking for a waiver. It is our right. We are not begging for a waiver because we contribute substantially to the Centre’s revenue from our agriculture production. The Centre is not going to do us a favour. If production of wheat and rice goes down in Punjab, there will be chaos the world over. The international prices also go with the Indian requirement. Then for fighting militancy we should be sufficiently compensated. The Chief Minister is pleading the case. If and when the Centre sends us an offer, we will examine it. Everything depends on what are the terms and what is the amount. For instance, if anybody says you sell Punjab for it, would you agree to it?
Are there any differences between you and Manpreet?
He is my brother and, personally, I have nothing against him. We meet regularly and have no differences.
There is talk that your father has favoured you over him in the succession race?
My father has always been very fair. He is not the type of person who will project his son. He had told me categorically that I had to earn my place in the party and that everyone irrespective of their relationship is equal before him. Whether it is his son, nephew or a party worker, he treats everyone equally. He has always been tougher on me than anyone else. If someone gets the same marks as I do, he would prefer him or her. I have to work much harder to prove myself to him.
So will you succeed your father as CM?
I believe in destiny. I am a very religious person. We believe that whatever has to happen, it is written by God. Who has to come first or second is decided by Him. My father has always said never to compete with anyone. Instead, set your own targets and work to achieve the target. That is why if you look at my entire political career, I have set the highest targets for myself to achieve. Whatever the party has given me I have fulfilled that. I have always considered the party to be number one. What I am today or what my father is today, it is all because of the party. I have always worked for the party and its principles with a mission. The party is nobody’s property, it does not belong to the Badal family. Whoever is the right choice, the party alone will decide.
As the head of the party, will you take
disciplinary action against Manpreet?
I do not want to comment on this issue because the CM has said not to comment on any of the issues relating to this. As a disciplined soldier of the party, I have to follow his diktats.
What has your government done to bring in revenue for the state and reduce debt?
The main sources of the state’s revenues are from VAT, excise, stamp duties and from transport levies. When we took over, we were quite shocked to find that the total revenues from VAT was only Rs 5,000 crore during the last 63 years. In just three years because of the measures we took, it has grown to Rs 8,000 crore. In excise, we took the revenue from Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,500 crore by modernising the department, bringing in computerisation, plugging the loopholes and cutting down on pilferage. Unfortunately because of the fifth pay commission some Rs 2,000 crore were just sucked out. But because of the additional revenue generation we were able to withstand it.
What about reducing subsidies to the agriculture and power sectors?
These are decisions taken at the party level. So I cannot comment on the issue at the moment because the party has to look into it. But subsidies are not just a Punjab phenomenon. The Government of India gave Rs 70,000 crore to farmers as debt waiver. Was that not a subsidy? Today kerosene and diesel is subsidised by the Centre. Even in Europe and the US farming inputs are
subsidised.
What about power-related subsidies?
If you look at the cost of power, we are buying it at very expensive rates from other states. And then supply it to the industry at subsidised rates. The only solution is to be self-sufficient. So that is why we are going into power generation in a big way It is this government’s biggest achievement. We have sanctioned so many plants in these three years that power generation is likely to cross 10,000 MW in the next couple of years as compared to the 4,500 MW that had been installed since the state was formed. And the rate at which we would be generating power would be far cheaper than what we are purchasing it now. Doesn’t this make better economic sense?
What has been your contribution as Deputy Chief Minister?
I have two roles. One, I am the president of the party and as its president my aim is to improve the image of the party. Also I wanted the image of the government to go up. If the image of the government goes up, it is natural, the image of the party will automatically improve. Two, I have focused on economic development. We had to create an environment under which people and investors would come back to Punjab. We have an advantage that Punjab is an agricultural state. But we cannot depend for all the developmental activities on agriculture alone. We have to create the environment and infrastructure to attract investment. So we expanded in a big way on power. Another important thing for development is connectivity. We have been able to get four airports for Punjab. Apart from that, we have got sanctioned four-laned highways connecting our major cities and towns. Now we will have international connectivity, a good road network and improved power situation. Also, we have spent a huge amount for the development of urban areas. My agenda is the economic development of the state.
As regards your party affairs are concerned, there are reports that there is lack of inner-party democracy and a dictatorial style of functioning in the SAD. What do you have to say on this?
If you have a look at my father’s decisions, you will notice that he has always taken collective decisions and never goes for individual decisions. We have a core committee and senior leaders are there to take collective decisions.
How much has the debt waiver issue damaged your party and the government?
I do not want to comment on this. As a disciplined soldier of the party, I am not supposed to comment on it. I have full faith in the leadership of the party. There is no crisis at all. The party is too big an entity, these are minor issues.
Watch
a video recording of the interview here tv.htm