Chhattisgarh ex-CM Raman Singh: ‘Being in politics does not mean contesting polls. Will take up whatever responsibility party gives’

"Congress will lose on development issues, as all work has come to a standstill. There is corruption everywhere," says Raman Singh

Raman Singh speaks with The Indian Express on the state's recent procurement of over 100 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of paddy. (File)

A former BJP Union minister and the longest-serving chief minister of Chhattisgarh, Raman Singh speaks with The Indian Express on the state’s recent procurement of over 100 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of paddy, which the Congress government is projecting as a masterstroke ahead of the Assembly elections later this year. On ticket for his son, Singh said it was up to the BJP to take a call on that, but he would continue working for the party. Excerpts:

Procurement of paddy by the Chhattisgarh government will soon touch the 110 LMT mark. They are calling it a masterstroke ahead of the elections. Your take?

Read | BJP looks beyond Raman Singh in Chhattisgarh, Adivasi or OBC leader likely to be next CM

SINGH: There was no system for procurement, production or distribution of rice in Chhattisgarh. This entire chain, including the Public Distribution System (PDS) was created by us (the BJP government). We started with buying 5 lakh metric tonnes and took it up to 70 lakh metric tonnes when we were in power. They (the Congress) are buying more now because the production has increased, but we’re the ones who created the system. We first bought the Food Security Act in Chhattisgarh, and not only Chhattisgarh, but the entire country benefited from it.

But the Congress government is also giving farmers a bonus in the form of input subsidy, under the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana.

SINGH: Even we used to give Rs 300 as bonus. There was a gap of two years in between, otherwise we were the ones who started the practice of giving bonuses. It is a good thing that they are buying so much paddy, but we were the ones who started it.

The Congress claims its CM Bhupesh Baghel is very popular due to the above and several other measures.

SINGH: We are now in the Opposition. The government and (the ruling) party make the laws and policies. We will address all these issues in our manifesto.

Are there any public issues, promises they did not fulfill, which could create trouble for the Congress ahead of the elections?

SINGH: They will lose on development issues. All development work has come to a standstill, right from construction of roads and bridges to hospitals and schools. Rural people are unhappy due to this. No new roads, schools or colleges. They are only renovating old ones. Roads are filled with potholes. They have no funds and have been sitting idle for the last four years. The corruption goes right up from the corporator to the collector. They took commissions on coal, cement and sand — the ED (Enforcement Directorate) recently busted a major coal levy scam. What can be bigger than this?

There are some promises they (the Congress) made in their manifesto that they have failed to fulfill. They promised that after coming to power, they would give a bonus (on paddy sale) for the two years that we (the BJP government) could not give. But four years down the line, they still haven’t given the bonus. They also said they will ban liquor. Instead, the number of shops went up from 700 to 1,400, and liquor is being home delivered.

They also promised to give Rs 2,500 as monthly allowance to 10 lakh unemployed youth, and made them fill up forms. Now, those unemployed youths are wondering where the allowance is! Same for pension for the elderly, handicapped and widows. They had also promised in writing to regularise contractual workers. Forget regularising, when the workers protested, they were lathi-charged. So, people have reasons for being dissatisfied.

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What are the chances for the BJP this time? How many seats will you win?

SINGH: Nearly 10 months remain [for the Assembly polls], so I can’t estimate how many seats we will win. But one thing is clear, the BJP will form the government in Chhattisgarh with a clear mandate.

Will your son contest the Assembly polls?

SINGH: Whether me or my son, or anyone else will (get a ticket to) contest the election is up to the party.

Will your son continue in politics?

SINGH: Being in politics does not necessarily mean contesting elections. Whatever responsibility the party gives must be carried out. Elections are a part of it.

You often engage in a war of words with CM Baghel on Twitter and through the media. The CM recently commented that senior party leaders like you and Brijmohan Agarwal may not get a ticket…

SINGH: He should rather worry about the divide in his own party, like the ongoing issue he has with T S Singh Deo. There is no such issue in the BJP.