‘Promises unkept, Cong has let people down’

STICKING to the party game plan of portraying Prime Minister Narender Modi as the poster boy of the BJP for the forthcoming parliamentary elections, president of the Punjab unit of the party, Shwait Malik, spoke volumes about Modi’s role in achieving the state of a unified house of the party. In an interview with The Tribune reporter Sanjeev Singh Bariana, Malik spoke on diverse issues facing Punjab and public expectations. Excerpts:  

What are the local issues which can have an impact on Punjab voters these election? 

People are looking for a way out of the dark alley of failed promises of the Congress government.Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh pledged to end the scourge of drugs within four weeks after he assumed power, but nothing happened. Farmers who were asked to stop payment of their loans are shocked to see court proceedings. The CM had announced a hike in amount for ‘shagun’ from Rs 21,000 to Rs 5,51,000. They are not even getting the original amount.  

What are the biggest drawbacks of the state government that you would like to highlight? 

Poor governance and inaccessibility to a common man are the biggest problems underlining the Congress government. The CM doesn’t meet his own party leaders. The sand mafia and drug mafia continues to have a free hand despite tall promises. Many state Congress leaders can be heard openly speaking against their own government. 

Union minister Vijay Sampla, former Local Government Minister Anil Joshi and MLA Som Parkash are some of the names, which have figured in instances of differences within the state unit of the BJP. Your comments.

The BJP is a family and small differences are minor issues. Words being ascribed to BJP leaders in media are all rumours. Has any party leader come on record criticising the party leadership in the state or the national level? The unity in our party upsets the Congress, which was why they planted wrong news.   

Will you like to comment on whether there has been any recent demand from your party workers seeking a bigger seat share in the alliance ratio of 10:3 with your partner, the Akali Dal?  

The issue of any change in the sharing ratio of representation in the state alliance has never featured in any of the official meetings. I was forced to give a statement because people are spreading lies.  

Was it a conscious choice by the party to not play up any other leader except Prime Minister Narender Modi before the public?  

Narender Modi is the brand ambassador for the achievements of our party. The choice for making him our party image is unanimous. Modi has becomes the image of our party because people trust him. He delivers what he says.