Farmers Movement Archive

Modi’s leadership helped BJP gain ground across the country: Anurag Thakur

Union minister Anurag Thakur has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government works for the development of all and that the biggest beneficiaries of its social welfare schemes are the sections misled by the Congress for decades. In an interview with Smriti Kak Ramachandran, Thakur also spoke about the government’s attempts to break the logjam over the farmers’ protests against the three farm laws passed in September and its commitment to doubling farm incomes. Edited excerpts:The agitation has continued despite the government’s assurances and outreach. Now it threatens to stoke unrest in the Jat-dominated areas...The government is committed to agriculture reforms and doubling the farmers’ income. The misleading of farmers by certain political parties led to this situation. The government believes in dialogue and will be able to resolve this through dialogue because this is in the interest of the farmers. From the government’s side, senior leaders including Union agriculture and home ministers have interacted with groups [of farmers] and we are open to the idea of meeting them again.How would you respond to the Congress’s criticism that the Budget is directionless?I think Rahul Gandhi‘s speech on the Budget exposed the Congress. They have nothing to say on the Budget; nothing to criticise. They are ill-prepared on the subject and they could not digest that the media, economists, industrialists, and even our critics said this is a great Budget. The market responded positively, not only on day one but for the last two weeks. We have seen a positive sentiment in the market.Also Read | Budget shows hope to build new, self-reliant India, says Anurag ThakurIs this an honest and transparent Budget that has not hidden our problems?Prime Minister Modi made it very clear that there should be no additional tax burden. There should be more transparency...the finance minister made sure that should happen. And even MPs [members of Parliament] from the Opposition parties appreciated this move of the government.Is there a shift of focus from the infrastructure to healthcare and education? How do you see the linkages in the economy for this?...we had hundreds of video conferences with various stakeholders to take their feedback during the pandemic...lots of Budget meetings also. One suggestion was about [increasing] the liquidity during the pandemic. That has been addressed with schemes like Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme, Subordinate Debt Scheme, and Income Tax refund of over ₹2 lakh crore, etc. In the pre-budget meetings, most of the stakeholders said there should be an increase in capital expenditure. And the government increased it by 34.5%... this will have a multiplier effect… more jobs will be created, and better infrastructure will be created. And you can monetise this in the future and repay your debt.Do you think welfare schemes will help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the assembly polls over the next few months? And will they override the schemes run by the states?The states are getting more revenue share--from 32% to 41%. They have their own schemes. But the central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat and the PM Kisan Yojana have benefitted millions across states. For example, take the agriculture infrastructure cess, the more money generated will be spent in states.The BJP seeks to wrest power in West Bengal, and do you think it will emerge as an alternative in states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which are not its strongholds?People are fed up with the aunt-nephew government in West Bengal. They are upset with the politics of appeasement and corruption. In other places, there used to be nepotism, here [West Bengal], the nephew [of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee] is running the government. We will do well in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry also because people in these states have seen the performance of the Modi government at the Centre and how effectively we have worked during the pandemic. In Kerala, we have lost hundreds of workers to political violence. At the same time, the local government is again indulging in politics of appeasement. Kerala has seen enough of communists, Congress, and corruption. Now they are looking for good governance and the BJP is the only alternative.The BJP is criticised for not having chief ministerial candidates and lacking leadership...Where were the faces in Haryana…in Maharashtra, we did not have a chief ministerial candidate. In Tripura, we were nowhere and in Assam, we were not that strong. Where was the leadership? It is the party’s ideology, clean governance and good governance. Modi’s leadership and charisma have helped the BJP gain ground across the country, from the East to the West, from the North to now the South.There is a perception that the government is cracking down on any kind of dissent...For us, national security and the security of Indians is the most important. You vote at 18. It is your action not the age, which forces you to face police action. And if you are trying to destroy the social fabric, then action should be taken.There also seems to be a disconnect between the government and social media companies...We have to see whether the social media platforms are being used for destroying the social fabric or misused for fulfilling the desire to do so. If so, the government has as per the law, every right to take action. If the government indicates the concerned platform to take action against those [destroying the social fabric] or give information, then it is as per the law.You have also been criticised for some of your election speeches. There is a study that says that BJP leaders have the most cases of hate speeches against them...The BJP believes in good governance. It believes in the agenda of development and we always contest elections on the issue of development. And we will contest future elections on the same agenda. And we have delivered. We have cut down the instances of stone pelting in Kashmir, cases of violence. and terror attacks in various parts of the country... The BJP believes in Prime Minister Modi‘s Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sab Ka Vishwas mantra. Post-elections also, you will see that the biggest beneficiaries of all the social welfare schemes have been those sections who have been misled by the Congress for decades.

Hindustan Times

18-02-2021

India