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Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan talks to Shashikant Trivedi on why he feels the United Progressive Alliance has betrayed the nation. Chouhan says the central government has been biased against BJP-ruled states, and that India now wants a change at any cost. Edited excerpts:
How do you see these elections vis-à-vis those held in 2009, particularly when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fared well in the recent Assembly elections? Is there any change?
If I am asked to translate a commoner's perception, I would say the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)-II government has betrayed the trust of the common Indian. Any Indian with even an iota of self-respect would not support what the UPA government has done. The world has put China and India right up there in the big league of emerging economies; even the people of India can sense more possibilities here. But the UPA government has not only failed miserably in meeting these aspirations, but actually caused more suffering for the people. We have been pushed into a place from where it is proving difficult to find our way back to firm ground. The UPA government has ruined the nation's economy. It has let the rupee fall to a new low every day against the dollar and has put India's credit rating at stake. Besides, high inflation rate and rampant corruption have seriously strained the ordinary person's faith in democratic government. This was not the scene in the 2009 elections. What I see among the people is that they want a change at any cost, under any circumstances. They have now pinned their hopes on Narendra Modi, who has emerged as a politician with strong leadership qualities. India now wants a stable government that can lead the nation on the path of development.
You often criticise the UPA government on various counts…
They have done an injustice to my people. Why is the Central government biased against a state government just because a different party is in power? I want to cite an example: they allocated only 50,000 housing units for Madhya Pradesh under the Indira Awaas Scheme while a state like Kerala, which is geographically smaller than Madhya Pradesh, has been given more units. Why? They allocated 600,000 units to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Why? I can give numerous examples of the UPA's bias against BJP-ruled states. And there's no logic behind it.
Which is why you say that Modi and you make a perfect combination?
When I talk about Modi and myself, I talk of a team that wants faster development in the country. Modi will lead a government that will have a vision. And obviously, my state will benefit more since my government is already development-oriented. A Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government will co-operate with all the states in the development process and not put hurdles like the UPA does.
What kind of hurdles have you faced?
This UPA-led Central government has no vision. A number of projects - roads, railways, bridges, power - are hanging in the balance due to policy paralysis. And if you are a BJP-ruled state, you tend to face discrimination. All these projects carry a Central government's "non-clearance" tag. We will see them taking shape once a Modi-led NDA government comes to power.
Let me give you an example. Our "Sankalp Patra" that was released recently, promises a multi-pronged agenda for overall development such as fixing minimum support prices by taking 50 per cent of the input cost in agriculture into consideration. Such an initiative would ensure further development in the nation. As far as my personal preference is concerned, I want to work more on education and health care in my state. My party's commitment that it would invest six per cent of gross domestic product in education would not only yield more benefits for my state, but other states also.
But Congress, particularly Jyotiraditya Scindia, is challenging your criticism…
Let me make this clear, I never make personal comments about anyone. I do not criticise people. It was an issue pertaining to a medical college in Shivpuri that falls under his constituency. What I asked was what was he doing for the past 10 years if he wanted to open a medical college there? The college would have taken shape by now. He came up with a piece of paper in February to cajole voters that his government has cleared a medical college in Shivpuri with an investment of Rs 189 crore. He even stated the state government's share in this investment in that paper. When I cross-checked, there was no budgetary provision for such a medical college, neither he nor the central government informed us about it. They should have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government and we would have allocated land for the purpose. But everything was just on paper. Actually, he wanted to take credit - or rather the votes - for it! And when I objected, he felt hurt since he is a maharaja, and a maharaja does not like to hear what a commoner like me says - the truth.
But Scindia has launched a protest against non-disbursement of compensation to farmers and says he will wear a black arm-band during the election campaign...
If he is so concerned about the farmers, then he should remove the band from his mouth and demand more funds from his government for farmers. My government has made a provision of Rs 2,000 crore in the recently-presented Vote-on-Account in the Assembly. The fund has been earmarked for farmers alone. It has been cleared by the Assembly, where the Congress members were also present. Before we could compensate the farmers, the model code of conduct came into effect because of the general elections.
Let the first phase of elections get over, the farmers of those constituencies will get the compensation, and when the second phase finishes, the farmers of those area will also get due compensation. And let me expose the Congress on its lies: when I reached Delhi to raise the farmers' issue and sought an appointment with the prime minister, I was told that he was out of the country, though he was very much present in the capital. Later, I was informed that the Central government had formed a group of ministers that would assess crop losses. But the fact is that they have not released any funds so far. I have only read in newspapers that the central government has sanctioned a few hundred crores to farmers, but I have cross-checked it, and they have not released any such funds. In the case of compensation to soya farmers, an insignificant amount of Rs 34 crore was released by the Central government, against the committed amount of Rs 700 crore.
As far as my government is concerned, we have to conduct surveys in 27,000 villages. The disbursement of compensation will reach the farmers soon after the first phase of election.
How do you see election results?
All the surveys have given 254 to 255 seats to the NDA. However, I see the NDA comfortably gaining 300 seats and forming the government on its own, under Modiji's leadership without any outside support.
And in Madhya Pradesh?
We will perform better than ever.
