Jitendra Vaghani, 52, or Jitu Vaghani as he is popularly known, was renominated by the BJP from Bhavnagar (West) seat, in its list released on Thursday. In an interview to The Indian Express, Vaghani, who is the Education Minister in the outgoing Bhupendra Patel government, as well as its spokesperson, talks about various agitations by employees and other issues the government faced. Excerpts: You started fulfilling demands of teaching mandals right after taking over a year back. Vaghani: Right after taking over as minister, I took it in my hands. Maximum issues are related to my (Education) department. I am happy that the employees are so happy. There is no employee who has not been benefited by Rs 3,000-4,000 per month. The state government was announcing schemes within hours of Arvind Kejriwal promising the same for AAP in Gujarat, like, say, a hike in salaries of police jawans. Vaghani: This is a wrong impression. Talking about this specific case, our talks were already in process. Somehow this was leaked to them and they announced it. Once I took over, I made sure to announce it directly without any delay, after a decision was taken. These were done right on the table - right after issues were resolved, they were announced in the media. I had instructed all officials that the files should come directly to them, without any intermediaries. Why are you still stressing and relying on schemes launched by the Narendra Modi government in the state 20 years back? Vaghani: We are not raising these but continuing them. Gunotsav came from Shala Praveshotsav, Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSK) came from the scheme under which every child is tracked. These are foundations of change. This is not happening in any other place in the country. Under VSK, each child is being tracked and her learning levels are monitored. People from everywhere are visiting it and seeing it for themselves. To bring change is our responsibility. It has been done and we are doing it. In my public addresses, I ask: raise your hands, those of you who have studied above Class 8. A few hands are raised. Whose responsibility was it? I was not there then, I have come only now. Why did the children not study? When I ask them if their children are studying in Classes 8, 9 or 10, nearly 90% hands are raised. I tell them, those whose hands are not raised grew up in the times of Opposition rule, those who are studying are under our government. People understand this. Anganwadi workers visit homes asking people to get their children enrolled in anganwadi centres, and then again when the child is to get enrolled in Class I, to ensure that they have. Where were anganwadi centres before? I have never gone to an anganwadi centre because they were not there. The state government has been accused of outsourcing jobs across departments and not filling vacant posts. Vaghani: We are only following the government policy for recruitment. To give services to such a huge population and ensure they do not face any difficulty, it is for this that this arrangement (outsourcing) exists. It was there before too and followed in every state. It is not that it is happening in only Gujarat. They [the Opposition] raise these issues during elections. They offer and might even give (these services), but fail to sustain it. In many states, the Congress promised free electricity and later retracted. What is Punjab’s condition today? People are not getting salaries. To announce and provide services are two different things. With elections due in Gujarat, many states have declared a hike in salaries, but what is the condition in those states? Why are senior leaders regularly mentioning temples in campaign speeches? Vaghani: The Kalika Mata temple mention by (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah. Kashi Vishwanath, Ujjain Mahakaal, Somnath, Kedarnath and Ayodhya. all these temples being mentioned and talked about are symbols of our cultural heritage. Even when I name these in my speeches, those listening to me get connected, as these are our cultural heritage. I tell them that Narendrabhai (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is the nimit (facilitator) that God and you have chosen. It instantly touches everyone. Everyone has visited one of these or some other temple at some point in their lifetime. They see how it was earlier and how it is now. It touches people. We are moving as per our culture, spiritual and religion. Yesterday I saw that in one of his interviews, Amitbhai (Amit Shah) mentioned these (temples). It is a fact that work has been done. Also, it is being done so that our cultural heritage continues for the coming generations. This is our agenda. What are the other things on your agenda in the elections? Vaghani: There could be many issues, but when we speak about these (temples), we notice that the people get touched. We can see it in their eyes, facial expressions, the way they cheer with claps, chant slogans of Jai Sri Ram. These connect instantly. There was no dhwaja for 600 years, after these many years a dhwaja was put up at Kalika Mata Temple in Pavagadh. Temple was there for years. This is not a small thing. This is absolutely on the correct path. We say this respectfully that Narendrabhai is the nimit, but it is all done by God who has chosen this as our work. Does this connect vary from one area to another? Vaghani: Gujarat ki taseer hi dharmikta hai (Religiosity is in Gujarat's blood). When mentioned, it touches instantly. Here we have Kalika Mata, Ambaji, Somnath, Dwarka. We are allotting a lot of funds under tourism to temples. It was decided in the core committee to allocate money without a second thought to all such temples. Why does the government take offence to raising of the issue of unemployment? Vaghani: It is an issue created by the Opposition. We have ruled for nearly 28 years where we have worked. Look at the data - 75 per cent employment is in Gujarat. Vibrant Gujarat Summits done by Narendrabhai brought employment, 24 hour electricity in villages brought employment. Water is now available for both industries and households. Most importantly, there is no agitation and no unions. It is government’s responsibility that employees and owners work together peacefully. Earlier, mills were getting closed due to unions. The change has been created. When I was young, I would think that after graduation, I will work for Rs 3,000, give Rs 2,500 to my home and keep Rs 500 for petrol expenses. Today no graduate youth is working for even Rs 5,000. Because they are getting opportunities. In the last couple of months, Gujarat has witnessed a series of protests by government employees, though they were eventually pacified. Vaghani: All solutions I introduced were possible only after revising and excluding conditions in the GRs (Government Resolutions). Only then could the confusions be removed. They (officers) write two lines, and it leads to endless confusion. The strategy I followed was to hold a meeting of mandals (government employee associations) and officials before notifying the GR, to ensure that the GR incorporates whatever has been decided as the solution, so that they can't blame us afterwards. I called the deputy secretaries and clerks too, or else these issues would not have been resolved. I never feel like I am a minister and should not be calling clerks or section officers to meetings. Or else, how can you deliver in a year? Tantra toh tantra hai (System is a system after all). Why was the entire capital city of Gandhinagar turned into a fortress when different employee associations camped in protest outside the Secretariat? Vaghani: This happens before every election. This is nothing. Thousands of employees from one department sit in protest every time. This time it was also due to the return to the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) announcement made by Punjab and Rajasthan. These states will not be able to take the financial burden, their governments will fail - this I can give you in writing. Taking this financial burden is not possible. Some of the issues under the Rajya Sarkari Karamchari Sangh are as old as 30-35 years. Officials who should have addressed these issues did not. Vaghani: Again, the perception that these [issues] will have a bearing on the elections is wrong. They won't affect votes much. I told them - do not think ki ap logon ne mahaul kharab kiya hai (don't believe the rumours that you people have vittiated the atmosphere). I told them honestly that people do not like your agitations, demanding more money and not working. On humanitarian grounds, we agreed to only those of your demands that were justified. But it is not that it will affect us (in the elections).
