I don't know whose battle Punjab farmers are fighting, says state BJP president Sunil Jakhar

As BJP leaders in Punjab are reeling under continuous heat of farmers' protests ahead of LS elections, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar (70) has a gigantic task to lead the party contesting on all 13 Lok Sabha constituencies for the first time. Jakhar shares his views with TOI's Sanjeev Verma on burning issues. Excerpts:

What challenges do you see as the state BJP president in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections, especially amid farmers' protest?

What is happening in Punjab is something which defies logic. Delivering MSP (minimum support price) for the last 10 years should be a guarantee in itself. It is not MSP but the income of these protesting small and marginal farmers that needs to be supplemented through dairy, animal husbandry or fishery or other value addition. Every grain is being lifted at MSP without any hassle in Punjab and Haryana. I could understand if these protests were taking place in states like Bihar. I don't know whose battle Punjab farmers are fighting. BJP is making efforts to address it through various means to help augment farmers' income with schemes like Kisan Samman Nidhi, where Rs 6,000 is transferred to farmers' accounts every year. In BJP-ruled states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh bonus of Rs 125 per quintal is being given for wheat crop.

What are the main issues in Punjab?

Ever since the start of the farmers' protests, nobody has been raising the main issues. BJP leaders visiting the villages for the election campaign are being heckled. Are drugs, lawlessness, unemployment, industry exodus, youngsters moving abroad and being looted by immigration agents no more the issues? It is for the people to look at why this is happening and if there is some design behind the continuity of these farmers' protests since the pronouncement of elections?

This time BJP is contesting on all the 13 Lok Sabha seats independently and yet it has fielded eight turncoats ignoring party cadre. Why?

Wherever we have our traditional cadre, nobody has been brought in from outside, but a leader is not made in a day. We have earlier contested from Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar. So, we have allowed those who believe in BJP's development model and think that Punjab should not be left behind when the entire country is marching towards becoming the third largest economy to join. All traditional parties like Congress and even the so-called volunteer-based party (AAP) have as many outsiders.

Your Jalandhar candidate Sushil Kumar Rinku has changed parties twice just before the Lok Sabha elections. Will he be loyal to BJP?

He believes in development. Rinku left Congress and joined AAP because Arvind Kejriwal promised him that they will remove the garbage dump from Jalandhar. But not even a single penny had been spent, leaving him disillusioned. So, he joined BJP as development of Jalandhar is the main issue.

Capt Amarinder Singh is nowhere visible in the election campaign being a political stalwart.

My own political career started when Capt Amarinder Singh became the chief minister of Punjab for the first time in 2002. I don't see any change in his behaviour and he is the way he is. People follow him because of his guts and gumption, and not because he is running around helter-skelter. People have given him the mandate twice to serve the state as chief minister.

What do you have to say about the SAD's allegations that BJP has been interfering in Sikh religious issues.

I think it is ironic after all that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done especially for the Sikh community. Akali Dal has no right to even ask this question. Opening of the Kartarpur corridor should have put an end to such apprehensions. This narrative has been perpetuated by SAD though they were our coalition partners. While BJP is being projected working for the Hindutva agenda, the BJP-led central govt has celebrated the 400th Parkash Purb of Guru Tegh Bahadur at the Red Fort. A ropeway to Hemkunt Sahib is being built. Modi ji has spent many years in Punjab as party in-charge and has a connect with the state and Sikhs.

How do you see the level of political debate deteriorating day-by-day amid personal attacks rather than having meaningful debate on development?

This trend transcends political space. It is more of a reflection on society that how we are sliding. An end should be put to this kind of deterioration in standards. We may have our political differences or may say something in the heat of the moment, but electioneering is no licence to ignore basic civilities, and amity and brotherhood should be maintained.

SAD claims that the re-alliance with BJP did not materialise as the party did not agree on the issue of farmers and Bandi Singhs among others.

They are trying to take a moral high ground and hide behind Sikh issues. The Bandi Singh (Sikh prisoners languishing in jails after completing their sentences) matter is not new and the farm laws were applauded by Parkash Singh Badal himself. SAD did not object before these laws were announced and even Harsimrat Kaur Badal was part of the cabinet. But they later broke the alliance. SAD has still not come to accept the reality as their 'big brother' mindset has not changed. Their concern was that BJP would do much better in the six seats compared to the seven which were offered to them. They may have feared that BJP would win five seats and they would end up winning only one or two seats. They rather chose to keep up the pretence of being the 'big-brother'.

You once said that SAD should be strengthened as a regional party. Do you still believe in it?

I still believe that a strong regional party acts as a safety valve in a democratic country like India with so much diversity, especially in a state like Punjab. The community as a whole believes that this political wing of the Panth - Akali Dal - should be able to get their issues addressed. This is why BJP had entered into an alliance with SAD in 1996 to maintain social amity after the dark days of terrorism. A strong Akali Dal does not necessarily mean being electorally strong. It could be Sukhbir Badal or anyone else, but the Sikh community needs a strong leader. Politics is not the end of it because Punjab will remain beyond all this, and Punjab has social amity and brotherhood in its DNA.