‘Not keen on Cabinet berth’

After scoring a hat-trick in a keenly contested battle for Bathinda, Harsimrat Kaur Badal is hoping to carry forward the development agenda and taking up key issues confronting Punjab in the Lok Sabha. Talking to The Tribune reporter Perneet Singh, she spells out her priorities.

What are your priorities in your third stint as a Member of Parliament?

My foremost priority would be job creation. I will start off by ensuring that AIIMS gets operational at the earliest and works to its full potential by the year end or early next year. I would make sure that whatever is to be supplied to AIIMS is manufactured in Bathinda only. This way I would take the development in the constituency to the next level. 

Now that SAD chief Sukhbir Badal has also been elected to the Lok Sabha, who among you would be the minister?

Neither of us is interested, as he wants to concentrate on Punjab, while I feel that there has to be someone who should raise the issues of Punjab. As a minister you are not permitted to seek because you are the government. Anyway, this is not a decision that has to be taken by either of us. 

How do you see SAD’s performance, as you managed to win only two seats?

The Congress had unleashed repression and misused the government machinery to defeat its rivals. Our leaders and workers were intimidated in all segments. This trend carried on even after the results, as our activists were thrashed in Bathinda. They have won eight seats on “sheer force”. That is how they had won the panchayat elections too. Moreover, our vote share has gone up by 7 per cent as compared to 2017 polls and the SAD-BJP scored lead in 35 Assembly segments, while there was a margin of only 500 to 1,000 votes in 15 other segments. 

How would you respond to your rivals who say the Badal family has won, but the party has lost?

I would tell them that the entire Akali Dal’s vote share has gone up and not just our family’s vote share. On the contrary, I would say they have no moral right to stay in the office, as they failed to achieve the “Mission 13”.

Do you think the sacrilege issue hurt the Akali Dal in these elections?

Not at all. The verdict from Ferozepur and Bathinda has come as a slap on face of those who tried to defame the Akali Dal and the Badal family over the sacrilege issue. It was a false propaganda aimed at harming us. The Congress is least interested in delivering justice and bringing the guilty to book. They only wanted to politicise the issue for petty gains.

How do you see your lead from Lambi, your family’s home turf, coming down by more than half in these elections?

Our rivals had misused the government machinery and bought votes in Lambi. However, we didn’t stoop to such level. I think the rural people stood their ground, while the urbanites, who always let me down, also stood by me this time. I had got 5.26 lakh votes in 2009 and 5.16 lakh in 2014. This time too my votes were close to 5 lakh despite the Congress having its B, C, D teams in the form of Sukhpal Khaira and Bargari Morcha leaders. We have not only succeeded in maintaining our base in Bathinda, but also increased our winning margin despite the pressure.

Do you think CM Capt Amarinder Singh should act against his ministers who failed to deliver in the elections?

The CM should start by acting against himself, as he had promised to accomplish “Mission 13”, but failed. The Congress lost the constituencies where Local Bodies Minister Navjot Sidhu campaigned. Similarly, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal had said Raja Warring’s defeat would be his political death. They’ve a lot to answer for. However, we know the Congress doesn’t practice what it preaches. They are known for telling lies. I think the people of Punjab need to introspect, as the state government is not only denying them the benefits of the Central schemes but has also withdrawn what we gave them during our 10-year rule in the state.