Why does Anil Vij put BJP govt in a tight spot again & again?
On January 27, Haryana’s vocal senior minister Anil Vij shared the dais with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini in Chandigarh as the latter patted himself on the back for unprecedented development during the 100 days of the BJP government.
However, a few days later, the minister left the saffron party red-faced by attacking Saini, alleging that the Chief Minister had been riding in his “udan khatola” (helicopter) ever since he assumed office. “Our CM has been on a helicopter since the day he became the CM. He will come to know about people’s pain only after he gets out of the helicopter. This is not just my voice, but that of all MLAs, MPs and ministers,” said BJP’s seven-time MLA.
Vij’s “out-of-turn” remarks were the offshoot of his frustration at the non-compliance of his orders passed at the grievance committee meeting by government officials. The Ambala Cantt MLA is also sore because of “inaction” against officials/politicians who allegedly tried to defeat him in the last year’s Assembly polls, besides orchestrating an attack on him.
Vij’s remarks against Saini naturally left the BJP government, which is celebrating 100 days in office, embarrassed and provided fodder to the Opposition to target the state government on the issue of the “highhandedness” of the state’s powerful bureaucracy.
The Saini government worked quickly to mollify Vij by ordering the transfer of the Ambala Deputy Commissioner. However, Vij remained unfazed claiming that he could not be “silenced” and would continue to fight for the rights of his voters in Ambala Cantt.
Now, the question arises why Vij has been at daggers drawn with his own government time and again? The answer is simple. Vij considers that despite being the seniormost MLA of the state, having been elected seven times, he had not been given his due in the government over the years.
When former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar made way for a “comparatively junior” Nayab Singh Saini as the state’s Chief Minister in March last year ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Vij “feebly” protested this elevation. So much so, Vij virtually walked out of the meeting in which Saini’s name was proposed and later did not join the Saini Cabinet.
Subsequently, along with Union Minister and Ahirwal strongman Rao Inderjit Singh, Vij pitched himself as a chief ministerial candidate in the run-up to the 2024 Assembly polls. This was despite the fact that the BJP high command had already declared its OBC face Saini as the chief ministerial candidate.
With no less than BJP’s chief strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah anointing himself as the central observer for picking up the leader of the BJP Legislature Party after saffron party’s historic hat-trick, Vij developed cold feet. Clearly outsmarted, Vij proposed Saini’s name and later quipped that he was a party loyalist and ready to serve even as a “chowkidar”, if the party so desired.
The result was that Vij was inducted as the “Number 2” in the Nayab Singh Saini Cabinet, which took oath on October 17, 2024, at Panchkula in the presence of BJP top brass, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, his favourite “Home portfolio” eluded him and he had to stay content with less-fancied power and transport departments.
This is not the first time that Vij has crossed swords with his own Chief Minister. During Khattar’s two tenures since 2014, Vij has had an uneasy relationship with the Chief Minister. At one point of time, Khattar stripped Vij of the all-important Criminal Investigation Department (CID) when Vij was holding the Home portfolio. During Khattar’s second tenure, Vij refused to clear Health Department’s files for nearly two months when an aide of Khattar chaired a meeting of the department without keeping Vij in the loop. The truce was ultimately effected at the instance of the party high command.
From 2014 to 2024, the high command had to intervene time and again to effect truce between Khattar and Vij. With the party high command busy in the Delhi Assembly polls, it will take a few days to broker a truce between Saini and Vij. Till now, Saini and the high command have preferred to play down Vij’s statements.
The Congress may or may not play the role of the main Opposition, but irrepressible Vij is virtually playing opposition by keeping his own government on tenterhooks!