‘There’s no Modi wave in Punjab, polls are fought on local issues’

Former Punjab chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh is contesting after 34 years and is fighting an interesting political battle with senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley from Amritsar. Mr Singh speaks to Tanveer Thakur about his political battle from Amritsar and the prevailing political situation in the state.

There is a general feeling that the Congress leadership has ambushed the Akali Dal - Bharatiya Janata Party alliance by announcing you as the Congress candidate from Amritsar. How do you look at it?

I feel very happy about it. I am getting overwhelming love and support from the people of Amritsar ever since my candidature was announ-ced from Amritsar. People and delegations are coming to me vouching their support. I am well acquainted with Amritsar constituency as I have visited extensively all the four rural Assembly constituencies of Amritsar during the Assembly elections. There is no mohalla in the Amritsar city where I have not gone. And the kind of love people of Amritsar are showering upon me shows that I must have done something right in the area as Punjab’s chief minister.

The Akalis are hoping to do well as they think there is anti-incumbency against the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre, while on the other hand there is anti-incumbency against Akali-BJP government in Punjab. How do you assess the political situation?

There is definitely a very strong anti-incumbency against Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government in Punjab. The corruption is rampant as there is no law and order in the state. The promises made by the Akali government during the last Assembly elections were not fulfilled. The people have realised that chief minister Parkash Singh Badal is a liar — I have been saying this all along seeing him in politics for last four decades. The Akali government has become a bully in the state which is grabbing people of their land, wealth and businesses. Peo-ple are in a mood to punish the corrupt Akali government in the forthcoming elections.

Punjab is facing a huge problem of drug addiction amongst its youth and now the names of some Akali leaders have surfaced in the drug scandal. Do you think this could be a potent election issue in Punjab?

It is not that only few names of Akali leaders have surfaced in the drug scandal. In fact, the Akalis are smugglers; they are indulging in the drug trade. The drug cartels are flourishing in border regions of the state at the behest of Akali leaders. The Akalis are also indulging in the synthetic drug trade within Punjab, and ruining the future generations of the state. The people are already aware of this fact. It is already a big issue in Punjab and people will punish the Akalis for this.

There are many cases where members of the Youth Akali Dal have indulged in violence and crime. Do you think this could be a poll issue?

The Youth Akali Dal is nothing but an organisation of lumpen elements. Its leader, Vikram Jeet Singh Majithia, indulges in arm-twisting of innocent people. They grab land, forcefully take over businesses, beat innocent people and ask police to harass anyone who does not toe their line. The Youth Akali Dal does everything after taking the consent of chief minister Badal. This is being done right under the nose of Mr Badal as he is unable to control few boys of his party.

However, as I have now entered the political arena from Amritsar, we would check the strong-arm tactics of the Akali Dal and protect innocent people who are at the receiving end.

Do you think that the projection of BJP candidate Arun Jaitley as deputy Prime Minister by Mr Badal in case the National Democratic Alliance comes to power would help Mr Jaitley?

We all know that Mr Badal has the habit of making false and misleading statements. However, if Mr Jaitley is relying on the Akali Dal for his victory then he is making a mistake since there is strong resentment against the Akali Dal in Punjab. And if Mr Jaitley is trying to bank on the Modi wave for his electoral fortunes then also he is making a huge mistake as there is no such wave in Punjab. Elections are fought on local issues. The Akali government has indulged in massive corruption in the state.

There is this perception that the division within the Punjab Congress makes it easier for the Akalis to poach Congress leaders. How do you plan to tackle this?

The Akalis were able to poach some of our leaders when the morale of the party workers was low as they were looking for strong candidates who could challenge the Akalis. Now that the senior leaders of the state are in the fray for the parliamentary elections, the Congress workers are in an upbeat mood. They are ready to face any challenge. However, there is no way that the Akalis can now poach on our leaders.

The Congress has made an alliance with the People’s Party of Punjab. Do you think this could help the Congress win the Bhatinda seat — the pocket borough of Badal family?

The Congress has entered into an alliance with the PPP.

Manpreet Badal, the estranged nephew of CM Badal, is contesting the election from Bhatinda against CM Badal’s daughter-in-law Harmirat Kaur. Considering there is animosity within the family, the Congress-PPP alliance should be able to win this seat quite easily.