When the Bharatiya Janata Party gets a majority in the upcoming Gujarat assembly elections, incumbent chief minister Bhupendra Patel will “undoubtedly" return to the post, said union home minister Amit Shah in an exclusive interview with Network18 Group Editor-in-Chief Rahul Joshi on Monday.
Participating in News18’s Gujarat Adhiveshan programme in the poll-bound state, Shah spoke on a range of issues, including state elections, freebie culture, Uniform Civil Code, the tussle over Sardar Patel, the situation in regions like Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, India’s international standing, border concerns, internal security, and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Defining freebies
Sharing his view on what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has described as “revadi culture", the home minister attempted to make a distinction between the upliftment of the underprivileged and giving handouts.
“Providing someone electricity is not revadi, but waiving the electricity bill is. Giving someone a house is not a revadi, but keeping it tax-free is. We make toilets, but we don’t carry out the repair work," he said.
There was a lingering slowdown after the Congress rule at the Centre, which hit the country’s poor the worst. And helping such people is not revadi, said Shah.
“Giving a house to someone, gas connection, electricity, Ayushman card, free food grains during Covid times, these are not distribution of freebies, but an attempt to raise the standard of living of the people," he added.
On UCC: ‘We keep our promises’
Speaking on the matter of a Uniform Civil Code, the home minister said in any secular country, there shouldn’t be laws based on religion. “It has been in our manifesto that we will bring a Uniform Civil Code. In any secular nation, there should be equal laws for the citizens of all religions. This is the promise of our manifesto and we will fulfil it…We promised a Ram Temple in Ayodhya and you will see it. We promised to remove triple talaq, and we did it…I ask Congress to openly take the stand that UCC shouldn’t come," he said.
Asked how the Uniform Civil Code would be brought in Gujarat, he said the assembly will bring a law and it will be implemented.
Attacking Congress on Sardar Patel row
The Congress has been alleging that the BJP has renamed a cricket stadium in Gujarat by removing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s name and adding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name. Responding to this, the union home minister launched a scathing attack on the opposition party.
“The Congress doesn’t have the right to utter Sardar Patel’s name," he said. “The Gandhi-Nehru Parivar has always tried to push Sardar Patel to the background. Narendra Modi created a grand statue for Sardar Patel. No Congress leader has visited it to pay respects. The Congress is spreading misinformation. The whole sports complex is named after Sardar Patel, and one stadium in it is named after Narendra Modi."
He added that if everything works out, the Olympics will be held at the Sardar Patel sports complex.
Attacking the Congress, Shah said in the 10 years of Sonia Gandhi-Manmohan Singh’s government, the country saw scams worth Rs 12 lakh crore. “It was difficult to count scams during Congress rule and it is difficult to find scams under BJP rule," he added.
On Gujarat and Himachal polls
Talking about the Gujarat elections to be held on December 1 and 5, Shah asserted that the ruling BJP will increase both its vote share and the number of seats by a record margin and will storm to power under the leadership of Bhupendra Patel. He also dismissed any chances of the Aam Aadmi Party making a major impact.
“The people of Gujarat have never accepted the concept of a third party. It is a habit of Gujaratis that they listen to everyone who has something to say. And if people get influenced by these sayings, then I have nothing to say. The outcome will speak for itself," he said.
He also said that in Himachal Pradesh, where elections have just concluded, the BJP will retain power with a similar result to the previous polls. He said that chief minister Jai Ram Thakur is leading the party. “He will continue as CM if we form the government in Himachal," he added.
‘Brought grassroots democracy in J&K’
Touching upon the situation in J&K, the home minister said in Kashmir, earlier democracy had been limited to three families: the Gandhis, Muftis and Abdullahs. Now the Narendra Modi government has done the job of percolating democracy to the grassroots, he added.
India’s security forces have always fought against terrorism, but no one took on those fostering terrorism, said Shah. “We have ruthlessly cleaned up the support structure of terror in J&K," he added, while pointing out that a record number of tourists are visiting J&K and that under BJP, Dalits and tribals in the region are finally getting their due.
On the question of when polls could be held in Jammu and Kashmir, he said that is for the Election Commission to decide.
After AAP formed the government in Punjab, law and order there has unquestionably suffered, said the union home minister. But, he added that the Centre and state will work together to improve the situation.
Talking about the troubling issue of drug trafficking and several large hauls in Gujarat and other parts of the country in recent months, Shah said that even if a small packet of drugs is caught, government agencies carry out “top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top investigations" in a bid to uproot the whole network of narcotics trade.
International affairs
Shah also spoke about the turbulent situation in Pakistan and what impact, if any, that might have on India.
“Whatever the danger from Pakistan will remain on that side of the border. We will not let it enter India, I can assure everyone," he said.
When asked about India’s stance on Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin, Shah refrained from commenting but said that the ruling BJP’s stand hasn’t changed.
He also underscored India’s growing stature on the world stage under the Narendra Modi government by referencing the Russia-Ukraine war.
“As a long-time student of international affairs, I had never seen this before," he said. “35,000 Indian students were stuck and Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to Russia and Ukraine that the fighting should stop for some time. And for 72 hours, there was a ceasefire."
‘CAA will be enforced, LWE losing’
Some commentators had also raised questions about the fate of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that had seen protests by certain sections after its passage. “CAA is the country’s law. It was delayed because of Covid. But it will be enforced, there should be no doubt about it," Shah promised.
On matters of internal security, the home minister said that in Bihar and Jharkhand, government forces are fighting a decisive battle against Left-wing extremism, which is on its way out.
Asked about allegations from opposition leaders about the misuse of central agencies by the ruling BJP, Shah said, “If people have grievances they should go to courts and not the media…Our government pursues cases based on merit."
With parties, particularly the BJP, already formulating plans for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, Shah said he expects more seats from Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh in the south, and greater improvements in Odisha and West Bengal. “In 2024, we will retain power with an even greater tally than in 2019," he said.
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