Shripad sets his sight on pushing up MUDRA targets in Goa

North Goa BJP  candidate for Lok Sabha elections SHRIPAD NAIK, who is looking for his consecutive fifth victory, speaks to RAMNATH N PAI RAIKAR about his achievements as the first Union minister to hold the AYUSH portfolio, besides his prospects at this election, among other things

Q: Which are the main assurances you would like to spell out that you have given to the North Goa voters in your manifesto?

The national manifesto of the Bharatiya Janata Party has already been released, while the state manifesto will come out soon. The local manifesto will of course have issues like mining, which my government intends to solve soon after coming back to power at the Centre. Some more issues linked to the livelihood of the people such as sand extraction vis-à-vis direction of the National Green Tribunal, will also find place in BJP’s state manifesto. Furthermore, the issue of employment will reflect in my manifesto; for example, the local banks are not supporting the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) in terms of disbursement of loans, and I will take up the matter with the ministry of finance, once we are back to power. In fact, the local banks have not even achieved 25 per cent of the target given to them under this scheme, and therefore, Goa is trailing as far as the implementation of this scheme is concerned. If this scheme is properly implemented here, then the local youth will be able to get self-employed.

 

Q: Which is your greatest achievement during the last five years?

I think providing international recognition to Yoga through its acceptance by the global community is the greatest achievement of my ministry. Of course, the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi largely helped in this achievement. The International Day of Yoga is now celebrated on June 21, the world over since 2015. Then setting up in New Delhi the All India Institute of Ayurveda – a public Ayurveda medicine and research institution – is also a matter of pride for me. Today, thousands of patients are turning to this Indian system of medicine by visiting the AIIA. In Goa, we are setting up All India Institute of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy at Dhargal, which will have treatment
facilities, research centre and educational facilities from short-term to long-term courses.

 

Q: It has been claimed that decisions of the Modi government such as demonetisation and goods and services tax have resulted in economic slump in the country. How do you look at it?

Many years back the Indira Gandhi government had planned demonetisation, but her cabinet did not have guts to go ahead with it. Later, many of the Congress prime ministers turned out to be remote-controlled prime ministers and hence nothing could be expected out of them. Modi ji went ahead with demonetisation and successfully curbed the black money in the Indian economy. Today a resulting boost to the Indian economy has resulted in healthy economy for the country. It has been said the Indian economy is currently ranked sixth in the world, but just the other day, when Modi ji came to Goa, he informed that it has in fact jumped to third position now. The growth rate of our gross domestic product is also touching and crossing the 7 per cent mark. The number of income tax payers too has become more than double with the increased formalisation of the economy.

 

Q: You had adopted Ibrampur village in North Goa and Keri village in South Goa for their development under the ‘Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana’. How successful have you been in this project?

These two villages have progressed well. The Adarsh Gram or model village concept has no special funding, but is funded through the Member of Parliament Local Area Development funds. There are certain criteria for making this concept successful. The adopted villages need to be provided with facilities like school, health centre, playground, water and electricity, etc. For complying with these norms we have a committee, which has support of the local village panchayat, with deputy collector being the nodal officer. For Ibrampur, we shortlisted 13 projects for which land was required. However, since no land was available, the local panchayat withdrew the projects. We have however released an additional amount of Rs 7 crore under the MPLAD fund to this village. Work in the Keri village, on the other hand, is progressing smoothly, with seven to eight projects including water supply project, ready for the inauguration.

 

Q: There have been many dissidents in the Bharatiya Janata Party, especially in your North Goa constituency, some having left the party while others still in the party. Do you think they will jeopardise your prospects at the election?

There won’t be any major impact of such things on my election prospects. I agree, there can be some minor disturbances, but they will not prevent me from winning. In fact, whenever things go beyond control, the political party needs to take disciplinary action. The internal rebels as well as the external alliance partners need to respect the rules and regulations. It is a must, or the entire (political) life will become meaningless. The BJP cannot be held responsible for actions against the rebels. On the contrary, those who attacked the BJP got themselves exposed in the process. Their interpretation of politics as self-interest is now known to all voters.

 

Q: Can you share with us the working styles of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi as the two prime ministers, now that you have worked with both of them?

I am lucky to have served our country under these two iconic prime ministers. Both were clear in their mind and did not fear while taking any decision in the interest of motherland. Atal ji’s decisions to carry out nuclear tests in Pokhran in 1998, or Modi ji’s decision to carry out surgical strikes in terrorist camps are clear-cut examples of their courage. When I was in Atal ji’s cabinet, it was like working with a fatherly figure, while Modi ji gave me love and affection like an elder brother. I should mention here that both these exemplary personalities and leaders of my party earned a place of respect for India on the global level.