‘People don’t want caste, dynasty, regional politics’

Captain

Abhimanyu

says Cong has given an impression it depends solely on ex-CM Hooda by making him its face again. He tells Ajay Sura defections to BJP show people’s mood
Will ex-CM Bhupinder Hooda’s return as main leader of the Congress have an impact on the BJP’s prospects in assembly polls?

The Congress will face a huge loss in the assembly polls because of Hooda’s resurgence. By making him the party face in the upcoming polls, the Congress high command has given an impression that it is depending only on the Hooda family in the state. Hooda stood against his party’s ideology, especially on Article 370 and other issues, still the Congress succumbed to his blackmail tactics and pressure. The Congress should have learnt lessons from their loss in the 2014 assembly polls, but unfortunately they did not. They have again succumbed to the same kind of politics just to face another humiliating defeat in the 2019 polls. The Congress’s former state president

Ashok Tanwar

was beaten up, former CLP leader did not get any cooperation and even voting in the Rajya Sabha polls was not done as per the party’s high command’s directives.

Who is your captain in the upcoming assembly polls?

Manohar Lal Khattar is our captain in the assembly polls. He has proved himself in the past five years. After the 2014 elections, he has not only changed the government, but also tried to change the system. There is no doubt or dispute in our party over leadership. Haryana is all set to witness end of dynasties, caste and regional politics after these elections. Article 370, transparency in government jobs and good governance would be our main issues.
A large number of turncoats have joined BJP. Being an old-time leader of the party, how do you see this development?

I would say, people as well as political leaders of the state are against dynasty or family politics. Most of those who have joined the BJP are from the INLD, which was a family party. Leaders are choosing the BJP because they want the state free from three malaise — caste, dynasty and regional politics.

Will the 2016 Jat quota stir violence have any impact on the upcoming elections?

It is now clear that people related to the former chief minister (referring to Bhupinder Singh Hooda) and members of his team were involved in that violence. But unfortunately, they never expressed repentance for that. The incident still weighs heavily on people’s minds and I am sure that those involved in that incident would suffer loss because of that in the elections.

When will the list of BJP candidates be released?

The process to finalize the candidates started from Sunday. The panel of candidates has been received and after initial screening, it would be sent to the party’s central committee for the final approval. The main BJP committee of which the state CM, state BJP president, Prime Minister, national BJP president and the party in charge are members will give the final approval. The candidates would be finalized on the basis of their winnability, ability to attract crowds during the Jan Ashirwad Yatra and the opinion of party workers and organization.
How do you see Dushyant Chautala’s JJP performing in the assembly polls?

I think, they have not been accepted by the society. Dushyant became an MP just because of his family and party setup by his grandfather, but he deceived both the family and the party. In our society, in Haryana, family and social norms are kept on a higher pedestal, but founders of the JJP failed both. This was the reason that public rejected them in the parliamentary polls.

Do you believe that state has had a weak opposition in the past five years?

I believe nobody from the opposition could raise any issue in the past five years. The reason was that they not only failed to understand the pulse of the people but also lacked credibility in their eyes. Some of them could not come out of their castles. These were the reasons that today there is onesided environment in the state in favour of BJP which was able to catch the public pulse because of its connectivity to the masses in these five years.
What is financial position of the state at present, especially as the state’s debt liability has increased?

In prudent fiscal management, Haryana is one of the best managed states. The state used to pay Rs 13,296 crore for salaries plus DA in 2014-15 and we are paying Rs 21,902 crore in 2019-20. This is a 65% increase. Similarly, there is an increase of 102% in payment of pensions and 253% rise in payment of social security pensions in five years. We have saved Rs 1,178 crore by identifying ghost beneficiaries through direct transfer of funds into Aadhaar-linked accounts. Nearly 1.75 lakh fake beneficiaries were also identified and removed. The previous government was paying Rs 6,928 crore as interest on debt, but we are paying Rs 6,633 crore as interest annually on debt. The previous government was returning Rs 2,357 crore annually as principal amount towards debt but we are paying Rs 7,257 crore annually. Overall, we are maintaining good financial health and are ready to debate on it. But the problem is that nobody from opposition is ready to discuss this.