The Congress came to power in Punjab in 2017 on the back of false promises made to farmers such as a loan waiver, says Union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. The people of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which voted the Congress to power in 2018, too, will realise how hollow these promises were, she said. In an interview with Amandeep Shukla and Roshan Kishore, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader alleged that, at the national level, the Opposition had no common minimum programme to offer the people and were working together solely to remove Narendra Modi as Prime Minister. Edited excerpts :

The Opposition has been accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party of politicising the Pulwama terror attack and its aftermath. Your response?

What can they do? First they will question you, then they will say something else, and then they will manufacture something...Forget the Congress, I ask the entire Opposition: what do you have to offer? It is sad that the narrative of the entire Opposition is not a common minimum programme or agenda for the people. Their only agenda is to remove Modi. And what the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is talking (about) is what it will do for the people. In the Opposition, we do not have one political party saying “give us five years and this is what we will do”.

And look at the opposition leaders who are speaking the language of Pakistan. One of their leaders went and hugged the Pakistani army general. The question is : should we trust our forces or the enemy propaganda?

Punjab is a border state. How do you view the heightened state of tension between India and Pakistan?

Naturally, it is a matter of concern. Terrorism has been there for a long time and something needed to be done.

The Opposition has been accusing the Modi government of not having done enough for the farmers. They have also accused the NDA of promoting jobless growth.

The Congress itself came to power in Punjab on the basis of false promises. They talked of a loan waiver but even after two years, the farmers are waiting for concrete steps.

Taking a cue from Punjab, Rahul Gandhi made the same announcement in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections. However, like Punjab, the people of these states, too, would soon realise that they don’t measure up to their promises. The Congress has made promises but is insincere in fulfilling them.

And as far as jobs are concerned, you only need to look at the data of the food processing ministry to see how much work we have done.

Akali Dal has been an old BJP ally. You were there in the past NDA government. In 2014, the BJP won a majority on its own. Alliance partners such as the Shiv Sena, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) the Punjab Democratic Party (PDP), had problems. How has been the experience of the Akali Dal in this government?

Every party has its ups and downs, especially when the leadership changes. That is because every individual, everyone, has their own style. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for example, had his own style. This government has its own style.

As far as the Akali Dal is concerned, I think that the difference with regard to other parties is that this is not an alliance which is there for the heck of it, because either you like someone or you don’t. This is an alliance which is good for the state of Punjab...It is good for the social fabric of the state, which, if not nurtured properly, can impact the rest of the country. So when Mr Badal (Shiromani Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal) entered into this alliance, which is one of the oldest, he did it for the good of the nation and the people of Punjab. Not because he liked a person or didn’t.

So no matter what hardships the alliance goes through, which it has over the years, one thing is clear that this is good for the country, good for the state. So we look past our differences.

Any plans to contest the elections beyond Punjab?

Every party plans to increase its footprint. I think in Haryana we would like to fight, hopefully in alliance with the BJP. We share the border with Haryana and Rajasthan and there are lot of Punjabis there. Even in Delhi we (will or may) contest the Vidhan Sabha elections.

The issue of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal has been a source of tension between Punjab and Haryana. Will it be an issue in the elections?

We are clear that we do not have extra water. If we have extra water only then can we give water.

Punjab is the only state in the world where riparian principles are not followed. The first right of water is with the states. But our water is given to other states. And our own farmers don’t have water for their fields, are debt-ridden and are committing suicide. And this entire spiral was created by the Congress government which has always worked against the interest of Punjab.

This government has been pushing for cash transfers in the Public Distribution System. This is bound to lead to a reduction in food procurement by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). As a leader from Punjab, what are your thoughts on it?

Any significant reduction in FCI procurement will create problems for farmers in Punjab. I think that a shift to a cash transfer-based PDS should first be evaluated on a pilot basis. This is not a simple issue.

One of the major problems in the farm crisis is the fall in food price inflation. While it has provided relief to the common people, it has also hit farmer incomes. As the food processing minister, what do you think about it?

Higher prices hurt everyone, including the farmers. Therefore, we are committed to keeping prices under control. In order to promote farmers’ incomes, my ministry has taken a lot of steps such as opening more food parks and inviting more FDI (foreign direct investment) to augment investment and technology in the industry. This will help farm incomes in the future.

Was there any introspection in the Shiromani Akali Dal on why the party fared poorly in the state Assembly polls?

It was the first time a (party’s) government worked for 10 years. It was historic that we came back together with a bigger majority for the second time. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress got together to spread all kinds of canards. That spurious medicines were being sold by the ruling party. That drugs were being sold. Now the use of drugs is three times more. This entire thing was being spread by the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party.

So it was a perception problem?

It was a perception problem. Things have changed now. In fact the development done by us speaks for itself. Development in the past two years has come to a standstill from where we left it. The only projects inaugurated by the Congress are the ones which were originally set by us.

First Published: Mar 08, 2019 07:57 IST