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Vijaya Pushkarna
Vijaya Pushkarna

INTERVIEW

We are way ahead of Akalis and AAP

45captamarindersingh

Interview/ Capt Amarinder Singh, Congress president, Punjab

The Congress has not named Capt Amarinder Singh as the chief ministerial candidate of Punjab, the state that appears promising for the grand old party. But the entire manifesto is centred around the Captain—his vision, his remedies and so on. The 74-year-old former chief minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president has a chequered political history—he quit the Congress party, in protest against Operation Bluestar. He quit the Punjab cabinet when the state police, under their legendary chief Julio Ribeiro, entered the Golden Temple. As chief minister, he had the assembly rescind the SYL water-sharing accord. Most recently,he resigned from the Lok Sabha, protesting the Supreme Court order on his action as chief minister. 

Always a proud soldier before anything else, he is now ready for yet another battle. As the main challenger for the office of chief minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh has heard the people of Punjab tell their stories for two years now. Their manifesto was approved by none other than former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh.

Speculations were rife over the rise of Aam Aadmi Party in the state a few months ago. Opinion polls now give the Congress a fair lead. Chief minister Parkash Singh Badal projects his age and seeks a last chance. The main challenger, Captain  Amarinder Singh towers over the AAP in a state where people want experience and stability. He is unsparing of the Badals, claiming that the SAD-BJP rule brought Punjab down from the first position to the 19th. “They mortgaged everything from schools and hospitals to mental asylums, orphanages and old age homes to pay salaries,” says Amarinder Singh.

Excerpts from an interview:

For the first time, the contest for assembly polls is going to be triangular. How does it feel?

The AAP will not have a role. If it is a close fight, a third player can affect the outcome. I don't see a close fight. The Akalis are down in the drain. We are way ahead. They have seen the Shiromani Akali Dal—BJP for the last ten years. .The AAP seemed to be growing in south Punjab. But now their people are deserting them. People have seen that they don't have experience...People want stability.

The Akalis are talking about a hat-trick..

30 Akali leaders have joined us. There are 15 from AAP and 8 from the BJP. Why would people leave their parties if they could win?

The deputy chief minister's cavalcade is being stoned. There are reports that people gather in every village to ensure that the Akalis don't enter it. 

Who is your main rival now—the SAD-BJP or the AAP?

We have no rivals really. As I said, the SAD-BJP are down and out. The AAP, which won some seats in the Lok Sabha elections, are fast declining. 

Is it voter fatigue for the SAD or is their performance hurting them?

They have not completed even 20 per cent of their manifesto. They are trying to make up for their all-round failure by  building the gate at Amritsar, sprucing up the Darbar Sahib and Heritage Street. Yes, the public certainly appreciate the efforts, as do I. But they can see through it. After they ruined the economy, they are using religion.

People are fed up with the government because there are no jobs..They have been there for ten years, but the economy is in shambles. The drug issue is immense, unemployment is growing, industry has walked out of the state, agriculture is in doldrums.. There is nothing that is positive. That is the SAD-BJP achievement.

They have ruined the police force too. When Rahul Gandhi visited Bargari village, I went along. I met a woman who told me that all her family members committed suicide because of farm loans they could not repay. She said that she had two acres of land that the police have come to seize—to recover their loans. That is why we have promised in our manifesto that we will take over the farmers' loans.

The SAD has fielded an Army General [J.J.Singh] in these elections..

Not just a general, a former army chief. 

We [the Congress] made him the chief, and then the governor. He was asked by the press why he joined the Akalis and he says because of Operation Blue Star. 

When Blue Star happened he was lieutenant colonel. Why  didnt he resign? When he was made army chief, he should have said he will not serve. When he was made governor, he should have said, 'I will not accept your governorship'....

The SAD is strategically looking to pin you down in your constituency

I am not going to be tied down the slightest bit. I normally go to my constituency for three meetings—filing my nomination, in between the campaign, and finally the evening before it comes to a close. And that is what I am doing this time too. I travel all through Punjab. My wife, son, daughter all are there—working for the campaign. So there is no way I am going to be tied down.

The other thing is J.J. should understand this is not the army where you come and take over and you are the boss. Here, you have to be elected. Who is your electorate? You dont know the city. You were there when you were a two year old boy..

The same thing  happened to me. I have been in politics for so many years. And yet when I was sent to Amritsar, I told Mrs [Sonia] Gandhi that I dont know the constituency. She said you were chief minister of Punjab, you've been there. I said yes, but when you are fighting elections, you have to know each mohalla, each ward, each building. Why I was successful [in winning the constituency] was because I have been in politics for so many years and the people have seen me as chief minister for five years..Where has J.J. been in politics, or in Patiala? I am surprised that somebody who has been trained in strategy should fall for this! 

You have been saying that this is the last election you are contesting...

I mean it seriously. Seventy per cent of India is under the age of 40. I would like the younger people to take over...When the soldier has to go at 58, and the IAS officer, too, we should also realise that young India should have its own leadership.

Are you suggesting a retirement age for politicians?

Not at all. There is no age limit for political experience.  I  have been in politics for 47 years and I will be here for another five years.I feel that will be the right time to hang up my boots

What are you writing these days?

I have just completed my sixth book. It is about the 4th Sikh Regiment. Those days, it was called the 36th Sikh Regiment. In the Battle of Saragarhi, which is also the name of the book, it was the only regiment to get 54 Indian Order of Merits, equivalent to the Mahavir Chakra of today. We hope to release it between February 4(polling date) and March 11th(counting). We publish it ourselves and the proceeds go to the trust we have for war widows, disabled soldiers and orphans of my regiment.

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