Express News Service
As Punjab inches closer to the Assembly election, the ruling Congress has been witnessing debates about whether the party should announce a chief ministerial candidate ahead of the polls. Incumbent Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi tells Harpreet Bajwa that voters in the state need a CM face and he will support whichever person the party announces for this job. Excerpts:
What are the chances of Congress retaining power? How many seats do you think the party will win?
We will retain all the seats we won in the last election; our numbers will not come down.
Your party has been facing a lot of infighting and many leaders have rebelled as they didn’t get tickets for themselves or for their near and dear ones. Don’t you think this will harm the party’s prospects?
People want tickets from the party which is expected to get maximum seats and form the next government. When leaders don’t get tickets, some resentment is bound to happen but in the course of time it will be sorted out. There are not many rebels and we will be able to pacify them.
Many party leaders and sitting MLAs have left and joined other parties. Won’t this have an effect on the results?
The people whom we denied tickets wanted to go somewhere else, so they went. There will be no effect on us.
Your bother is fighting the election as an independent candidate from Bassi Pathana against the official candidate of the party. Will you go and campaign for him?
As every party has the right to fight the elections, every person has also the right to be in the fray. I have requested him not to fight the elections as an independent. I am a disciplined soldier of the party and will not campaign for him.
The Congress high command wants the polls to be fought under collective leadership. Then why do you and Navjot Singh Sidhu have differences of opinion on declaring a CM candidate?
It is the demand of the public. All other parties have declared their chief ministerial candidate. In Punjab, Assembly elections are fought on CM face as people vote for the CM face. Now the party is taking the opinion of workers and the public, and based on their feedback a name will be announced. Last time the party had announced Capt Amarinder Singh as CM candidate.
Who do you think will be declared as the CM face of the party?
It is for the party high command and Rahul Gandhi to decide.
If the party projects Navjot Singh Sidhu as the CM candidate and ignores you, will you abide by the party’s decision?
I have already been told that we are fighting for Punjab and not for ourselves. We are with the person whom the party projects. Last time it was Capt Amarinder Singh and we were with him with heart and soul. Now, whichever person the party makes the CM face we are with that person.
Won’t a delayed announcement of CM face the party prospects?
Last time the CM face was declared fifteen days before the election. We still have time.
What are your comments on the ED raids in connection with sand mining at various places, including your nephew’s premises? Are you being targeted?
They (BJP) along with other parties are targeting me and my family. They want to finish me off politically as we are returning to power again. The money was recovered from somewhere else. It had nothing to do with me but my photos were flashed. The AAP put my photos with the seized money. We are filing a defamation case against Arvind Kejriwal and we have already sent a legal notice.
Opposition parties have been accusing that sand mining is being done under your patronage?
It is all false propaganda to malign my image. I have been fighting against sand mining for a long. The sand, which was being sold at ₹22 per cubic feet at the quarry now costs only ₹5.50. I have also announced that if someone proves that sand is not being sold at this price, they will be given ₹25,000 rewards. The opposition is now playing politics on this issue.
Who do you think is your main opponent in the election — AAP or SAD?
As of now there is no single competitor. All parties are doing their campaigning.
Do you think farmers’ entry into politics will impact Congress?
Everyone has a right to fight elections in a democratic system.
You were the first SC Chief Minister of Punjab. Do you think that with the state having a 32 per cent SC population, they will vote for congress?
I don’t look and think from this angle. We are a secular party. The poor and middle class should get their rights, everyone should be equal.
As SAD has already tied up with BSP, don’t you think votes will be divided?
The SAD-BSP alliance is a mismatch. The Akali Dal gave the BSP 20 seats and of these, on 13 seats, Akali leaders are fighting the election. The SAD has betrayed BSP, it will harm the SAD.
For the first time, there will be a five-corned contest as there are Congress, AAP, SAD-BSP, BJP-Punjab Lok Congress and SAD (Sanyukt), farmers and other parties. Don’t you think this will cut the Congress votes?
It will only benefit Congress as all our rival votes will be divided.
Do you think the Punjab Lok Congress tie-up with BJP and SAD (Synskut) will have any effect on the ground?
They will not have any effect whatsoever on the ground. There is no effect of the BJP at all in the state. The saffron party will not even get a single seat.
You say that you are a common man (aam aadmi) and you project yourself like that. Will this help as the AAP claims you are a ‘duplicate aam aadmi’?
How can I be a duplicate aam aadmi? I come from the grassroots as I was born in a poor family and raised in a village. I fought elections in college and became a councillor three times, twice president of municipal committee and three times MLA. I am a Punjabi, Kejriwal is an outsider.
How do you view the performance of AAP? It is projected that they will get maximum seats?
The AAP creates hue and cry every time and in the last election too they did the same. This time their seats will be much less than last time. Day by day they are going down.
Opposition alleges that you have made announcements worth thousands of crores but practically there is no money with the government, and they are just mere announcements
We implemented all announcements we made. Power bills were waived, power tariff was reduced, petrol and diesel rates were reduced, etc. All the announcements made by us have been implemented. Let the opposition point out which announcement has not been implemented, I will give them all the facts.
Do you think that the narrative has changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Punjab as he was stopped and later he said ‘Say thanks to your chief minister that I could return alive till Bathinda Airport’? Will the votes get polarised in BJP’s favour?
The votes will get polarised but against the BJP. That was a conspiracy to defame Punjab and they could not succeed in that, as we were clear and true from our heart.
It is often heard that you don’t bad mouth any of your opponents. Why so?
It depends upon one’s nature, I stay positive since my childhood as there is no negativity in me.
What are the achievements of your government in the 111 days in office as you have issued more than 100 orders?
We are projecting the work done by our government in 111 days as around 150 notifications have been made. Electricity and water charges slashed down, petrol and diesel prices cut down, ₹5 lakh each to gaushalas, research centres on Ramayana, Bhagwat Gita and Guru Ravidas, a state-of-the-art museum after Bharat Ratna Baba Sahib Dr BR Ambedkar at a cost of ₹100 crore. We have done work.
What do you think you could not do while in office? As you have listed achievements of your 111 days what is your biggest regret?
No work was left out but the Punjab Governor did not clear the file of regularisation of 36,000 employees working on an ad hoc basis and kept it pending. It was a political conspiracy between BJP and SAD. A law has been made to clear the issue and it will be done in due course.
Why are you fighting from two constituencies?
It is the decision of the party high command. They have given me a ticket from Bhadaur (SC) and told me to fight from this seat also. I will abide by the party’s directive. This is not a new precedent as in the last election Capt Amarinder Singh fought from Patiala (Urban) and Lambi. I will be fighting from Chamkaur Sahib as it is my traditional seat. I will again win it by a comfortable margin. The people of Badhaur were very excited when they came to know I was fielded from that seat.
