‘Khattar to remain CM in next BJP govt’

Haryana BJP president Subhash Barala says Manohar Lal Khattar has given a clean and democratic government in the state. He claims the BJP government has fulfilled more than 80 per cent of the promises made in the election manifesto last time and before the 2019 elections, all promises will be fulfilled. He opines that people will not vote for AAP, as during the Punjab Assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal’s stand on the SYL canal issue was against Haryana. Excerpts from an interview with Sushil Manav.....

The BJP government in Haryana has completed four years. What do you think are its major achievements?

The biggest achievement of the BJP government led by Manohar Lal Khattar is that it is the first government of the state that has been functioning in a democratic manner. Otherwise, till now, we have seen governments of dynasties where sons and family members of the Chief Minister worked as 'super chief minister' without any constitutional authority and answerability. Our government has changed the system of governance and now even the person standing last in the queue is confident that he will get his dues. Nepotism and regionalism was rampant during the governments of the Congress and the INLD, but the BJP has ensured all-round equitable development across the state in the true spirit of the slogan “Haryana Ek, Haryanvi Ek”. 

Before the BJP came to power, jobs were given to a chosen few or the favourites of the government of the day. Now, 28,000 persons have already got government jobs purely on merit, and 50,000 more are likely to get jobs in the next one year. Written tests for 18,000 Group D posts are being held while the process for recruitment in the Haryana Police has begun. As far as measures for the welfare of farmers are concerned, our government has fulfilled the promise of the minimum support price (MSP) that ensures 50 per cent profit to farmers on their input costs. Through the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the government has ensured that the farmers' loss due to natural calamities and a poor yield are covered. The government has delivered water for irrigation up to the tail-ends of canals and distributaries. It has taken steps to eradicate corruption and those indulging in corrupt practices have been caught red-handed and put in jails. 

The government has introduced the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for providing the benefits of welfare schemes directly to the beneficiaries to ensure transparency. On the infrastructure development front, our government has completed the Eastern Peripheral Expressway, also called the Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal (KGP) Expressway, in record time, and now the Western Peripheral Expressway, also called the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway, which was delayed during the Congress regime, is also ready. The national highways from Hisar up to Dabwali, from Ambala to Hisar and from Yamunanagar to Panchkula have been expanded to six lanes.  

You speak about the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana but the Opposition parties have been critical of the scheme. Recently, the reply to an RTI application has revealed that the insurance companies have earned Rs 15,795 crore profits in two years of the scheme. How do you explain this?

People can say whatever they want to, but the fact is that farmers have benefited a lot from the PMFBY. The profits of the insurance companies are part of their businesses. As far as farmers are concerned, they have got their risks covered by paying merely 2.5 per cent as premium, as the government pays the rest of the money.

Your party came to power in the state in 2014 on the back of the wave in favour of Narendra Modi. The next Assembly elections are less than 11 months away. Why do you think people will vote for your party this time?

The BJP won the 2014 Assembly elections on the back of the charisma of Narendra Modi because people believed what he said and they had high hopes from him. People believed that Modi would strengthen the country and India would emerge as a strong force in the world. They also believed that he would introduce policies for the welfare of farmers and provide them remunerative prices for their produce. The people believed that Modi would work for the benefit of common people and improvement in their lives. The four-and-a-half years of Narendra Modi’s government has proved that all hopes that people had from him have been fulfilled. Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) are the two steps that have helped India emerge stronger.

But your opponents criticise the Central Government much for these two decisions. They allege that the growth of the country has slowed down due to demonetisation and the GST. What do you say? 

One can only laugh at the Opposition leaders for their statements. Congress president Rahul Gandhi says that the BJP-led NDA government has forced the poor to take out money kept in pillows and mattresses. He does not know that if a person has kept money in pillows and mattresses, he cannot be poor. This only shows the frustration of the Opposition parties. They do not have anything against the BJP government and are only finding excuses to criticise it.

The parliamentary elections are also scheduled for next year. How do you rate the chances of the BJP?

In the last parliamentary elections in 2014, we won seven out of 10 seats in Haryana. But this time, we will try to win all 10 seats. The BJP won in 2014 mainly on the strength of Narendra Modi’'s charisma, but this time we have five years of hard work behind us.

Before coming to power in the state, the BJP had made a number of promises in its election manifesto. How many of these promises do you think have been fulfilled?

The government has fulfilled more than 80 per cent of the promises made in the election manifesto. Our government still has around 11 months left in which we will be able to fulfil the remaining promises. 

What promises do you think your government has not been able to fulfil. Is your government committed to fulfilling the remaining promises if it is voted to power again?

As I have told you that we have already fulfilled 80 per cent of the promises made in the election manifesto last time. The work on other promises is in progress. Before the 2019 elections, when we go to people, we will have fulfilled all promises. 

Manohar Lal Khattar has been Chief Minister for the past four years. Who do you think will lead the government if the party comes to power again in 2019?

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind in the BJP that Manohar Lal Khattar is going to be Chief Minister again when the party is voted to power in 2019. If the government has been able to bring transparency in recruitments, curb corruption, and end nepotism and regionalism in the state, the credit for it goes to Khattar. He is the one who has singlehandedly changed the concept of governance in Haryana. There is no other thought about who will lead the next BJP government in Haryana.

Your party contested the last parliamentary elections in alliance with the Haryana Janhit Congress and the Assembly elections alone. Will the BJP again fight the next Assembly elections alone or does it plan to form an alliance with any party?

There is no question of an alliance with any party in Haryana. The BJP will go it alone and will rather have an alliance with the people of Haryana.

It is general perception that there is lack of coordination between the government and the party organisation in Haryana. Old party workers are feeling disenchanted. What do you say?

There is no problem of coordination between the government and the party organisation. The BJP is a democratic organisation, and unlike in other political parties our workers are allowed to say whatever they feel about the government. The party workers do point out shortcomings they notice and this helps the government to perform better. They do not speak for their own interests, but for the sake of the people of their areas. 

Dissenting voices are heard in the BJP. Sometimes, it is Kurukshetra MP Raj Kumar Saini, and sometimes it is Karnal MP Ashwani Chopra or Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh. How will your party manage this?

As far as Raj Kumar Saini is concerned, he has almost quit the BJP. Rao Inderjit Singh is a very senior member of our party and is a member of the Narendra Modi Cabinet. From the very beginning, he has the temperament of speaking his mind. There is nothing wrong in this. He has not said anything against the party. As far as Chopra is concerned, he had been away from public life for long due to illness. We wish him a speedy recovery. 

Your government has not been able to deal effectively with employees of various departments. Always, one or the other employees union is unhappy with the government. Now, the Haryana Roadways unions are protesting. What are your comments?

What our government has given to the employees, no previous government has ever done. We gave them the benefits of the Seventh Pay Commission. We increased the remunerations of ASHA and anganwadi workers. The salary of guest teachers was also raised. Almost all sections of employees have benefited from the decisions of the present government. The roadways employees are agitating because they have been misguided by some political forces. The government wants to hire 720 buses for its fleet without jeopardising the interests of employees. The decision is aimed at providing better services to people. However, the roadways unions have been opposing it without any reason.

For the past few months, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal has shown interest in Haryana. He has said that his party will contest the parliamentary and Assembly elections in the state. What do you think are the prospects of AAP in the next elections?

People of Delhi are already fed up with Arvind Kejriwal’s misrule. He came to power in Delhi by showing false dreams to people and on the back of Anna Hazare’s popularity. Now, people are looking for an opportunity to dislodge him. AAP contested the 2014 parliamentary elections in Haryana but all its 10 candidates lost their security deposits. During the Punjab Assembly elections, Kejriwal's stand on the SYL canal issue was against Haryana. So, the people of Haryana are not going to vote for his party in the elections.   

The INLD is witnessing a family feud for supremacy. Do you think it will affect the state politics?

It is an internal matter of the INLD. So, I have nothing to say on the issue. But the feud in the INLD has made it clear that the Chautalas are fighting for the chair and not on any ideology. 

Senior Congress leaders Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ashok Tanwar, Kiran Choudhry, and Randeep Surjewala have been holding public meetings across the state. In your opinion, how will the Congress perform in the next elections?

People of Haryana have already seen the misrule of the Congress government. Farmers were cheated and robbed of their agricultural lands during the Congress rule to benefit politicians, bureaucrats and builders. Corruption had peaked and jobs were on sale. Today, various Congress leaders are engaged in the game of one-upmanship. But people understand their intentions very well. 

You won the Tohana Assembly seat in Fatehabad for the first time. What have you done for Tohana in the past four years?

In the last four years of the BJP rule, we have been able to provide basic amenities to people living in rural as well as urban areas of the Tohana constituency. Before the BJP came to power, sewage of the town used to flow into the Bhakra canal, leading to spread of waterborne diseases. I got a sewage treatment plant constructed. I also got a herbal park constructed near the Bhakra canal where sewage water used to stagnate and mix with the Ghaggar river. Obstacles in the construction of a bypass have been removed. Science classes have been started in the college and a railway underpass has been constructed at Jakhal. There are many other development works that have been undertaken in Tohana. 

The Jat quota agitation has been a real pain in the neck for your government in the past four years. Do you think Jats, who are a majority community in Haryana, will vote for the BJP in the next elections?

Definitely, Jats will vote for the BJP this time, because every sensible person knows that the intentions of the government on the reservation issue are clear. The government had then agreed to bring in legislation on reservation in the budget session of the Assembly, but some vested interests started violence the same evening. People understand well who were responsible for the violence and will teach them a lesson in the forthcoming elections.