Forced out of his party and the finance ministership of Punjab in a political fight on economic policy, Manpreet Singh Badal in a telephonic interview with Gyan Varma. Edited excerpts:
Punjab has a debt of Rs 71,000 crore but you had done very little to reduce subsidy. Some initiatives were taken by you only in the first budget, especially power rates. What was your plan to reduce the debt?
Yes, it is true that Punjab’s debt would be Rs 71,000 crore by March 31. I have always advocated cuts in expenditure and taking additional resource measures (ARMs) when I was the finance minister but I could not succeed. I never got support from other members. That was one reason why I resigned.
The Centre had almost assured waiving half our debt if the Punjab government agreed to cut subsidies. We had almost reached the halfway mark in the talks. The deal is still relevant and I urge the Punjab government to go ahead with the talks.
Apart from debt waiver, you have said Punjab lags in infrastructure development and in education. What were your major challenges as finance minister?
I had raised the education budget by 29 per cent but it is never enough. Punjab is basically an agricultural state and I have always believed the children of a farmer need not also become farmers. To achieve this, we have to equip younger people with skills. Just as children from other states are going out of India and doing well, I want children from Punjab to also get better career opportunities, not just do menial jobs abroad.
The Akali Dal is saying your strategies were anti-poor.
The party is trying to give it a political spin. When the deal was being struck with the Government of India, I had told the cabinet it was a golden opportunity and we must grab it. The deal would not have affected the poor or any other welfare scheme for weaker sections. As it is, most of the money for food subsidy or money for the girl child is given by the Government of India. The total amount of pro-poor schemes being run in Punjab is Rs 70,000 crore and it is not a very big amount. If the deal with the Union had come through, Punjab could have saved Rs 30,000-35,000 crore, which could have been used for other development projects.
You have repeatedly said corruption was a major issue.
In Punjab, the state has got an institutionalised way of corruption. Why have favourites in the government? Good governance is ailing in the state. If young people like us cannot finish corruption or if we choose to keep quiet about the issue, then it will never end.
You have often said your cousin and the deputy chief minister of Punjab, Sukbir Singh Badal, is a more practical man, who knows elections can be lost if subsidies are withdrawn. Can you elaborate on your differences?
The main points of differences were that I have always believed expenditure should be cut and additional resources should develop. If cutting expenses results in minor electoral losses, then we should accept it. We should do what is best for the state, rather than be concerned about minor electoral wins.
India has been an independent country for 63 years but we are still struggling for basic facilities like food, water, shelter, education and better health facilities. Even after 63 years, a third of the country doesn’t have enough food to eat. We cannot wait for another 63 years to provide basic facilities.
Since Akali Dal is a family-run party and not a democratic one, what are your plans? The Congress Party has also said you are not welcome.
I am going to Amritsar on November 14 and will announce my future plans there.
