Himachalis See PM Modi As One of Them, BJP Will Be Back With A Bang: Anurag Thakur | Exclusive

From Day One, PM Modi not only believed in women development, but women-led development. In Himachal Pradesh, during BJP rule, when Prem Kumar Dhumal was the chief minister, he gave 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj to women, says Thakur

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Union minister Anurag Thakur says Himachal CM Jai Ram Thakur deserves another term. (Twitter)

Anurag Thakur, Information and Broadcasting, Sports and Youth Affairs Minister and Member of Parliament from Hamirpur, has been on a campaign trail in Himachal Pradesh for the past few days.

In the middle of the poll action, Thakur spoke to CNN-News18 about why CM Jai Ram Thakur deserves five more years, how PM Narendra Modi’s popularity continues to soar and what his party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), expects in Himachal.

Himachal Pradesh will vote in a single phase on November 12 and the results will be out on December 8.

Edited excerpts:

I have been travelling across Himachal and you have a great recall value, particularly among the youth. I have asked questions to the youth regarding their inspiration and their answer was Anurag Thakur. Should I call you ‘yuva neta’?

You can call, I will feel good. I have become an MP four times, but I will be yuva for all the mothers and sisters. We get inspiration from public and workers. Mothers and brothers leave their work such as rearing their cows and buffaloes or cooking when we reach with ‘sankalp patra’. I have reached late from Shimla, but they were all there to ready welcome their son. See this aunty is sitting here and she has been constantly showering her blessings.

You particularly address women as a constituency. It has been very important for Brand Narendra Modi, be it the Ujjwala scheme or others. What are you are offering to Himachal that will be the X-factor this time around?

From Day One, Prime Minister Modi not only believed in women development, but women-led development. In Himachal Pradesh, during the BJP’s rule, when Prem Kumar Dhumal was the chief minister, he gave 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj to women. Today, we have more than 60% elected women representatives. Women are active in the field – from religious to cultural, social or political functions. The initiatives by PM Modi for the welfare of women, be it is construction of toilets, house or LPG gas cylinder or may be facilities for the benefit of pregnant or malnourished women, have helped.

The Congress has put 10 points in the manifesto, and you announced 11. What exactly is the logic behind 11 points in the manifesto?

We put ‘shagun’ as 11, 21, 31, 51, 101.

So that is the logic?

Why should we reduce one point for women? We have opened our heart with 11 points.

Is unemployment a problem?

If you see a Congress-ruled state such as Rajasthan, there is 30% unemployment. The Congress can’t do anything there. Here also, they have said they will eradicate unemployment, but they have not given the promised jobs to one member of every family. The way they are making promises, people understand they are lying.

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PM Modi had said we will give jobs to 10 lakh people. In case of government jobs, we have employed 75,000 people. We will do one by one every month. We have said in Himachal that we will provide eight lakh jobs in private, government and non-government sectors. It will be possible in employment, self-employment and business sectors. We are working in this direction. E.g. Bulk drug park and medical device park will bring in Rs 30,000-crore investment and 40,000 jobs.

Four meetings done and several more to go. Is this how a day looks like in a campaign for you?

My day starts at 8 am and ends around 2 am. It starts with meeting people from various sectors who want to associate with the party or in the planning process in the morning, but the public meetings start at 9.30 am. Today, we had the programme on sankalp patra with the party president, so I got a little late to the first meeting. Despite that, the kind of enthusiasm and kind of support we get, gives me a lot of energy. People ask in the past seven days, you have done more than 100 programmes. I do about 14-15 programmes a day, but the energy comes from people, the support keeps you going.

There can’t be a better time to be on the hot seat as the CM because you are working with PM Modi at the national level. Jai Ram Thakur has got all the support to deliver. Not many people get that. He deserves five more years.

What makes you think that the state, which has always voted out the incumbent every five years, alternating between the Congress and BJP, will repeat the BJP?

In life, I follow a motto — give your 100% and don’t think about the results. Our government, under the leadership of Jai Ram Thakur, has done extremely well in many sectors, from education, healthcare to road infrastructure and vaccination programme. Two years were very challenging for him amid Covid pandemic, but despite that, he has done a fantastic job in five years. There is no reason and nothing is stopping us. Usually, if you see at this time, we won’t see many people from the hills outdoors. But they are still standing outside their homes and remote areas. Your work speaks for you. PM Modi enjoys support here. He has travelled to HP as a party in-charge, party general secretary and secretary from 1994 to 2001 and he knows the challenges. He came out for support and gave us the special status. He gave us big projects such as AIIMS, IIIT and IIT, IIM railway projects… you name it and he has given it. Earlier we used to struggle. We used to go the Centre with begging bowls. Now things have changed. He is giving on his own. It is up to us to implement. During the Congress rule, it took four years to give land for AIIMS, it took seven years for the central university, it took seven years to sign the agreement for the hydro engineering project. The Congress has been stalling projects, whereas the double engine government is delivering.

You are continuing your work as the I and B minister, holding regular press conferences, attacking and responding to your political opponents, particularly the Aam Aadmi Party. AAP is not a factor here, but why are you worried about them in Gujarat?

Gujarat, you mark my words, wait for the results on December 8. The BJP is going to win this election with a big margin. It’s going to be a historic win in Gujarat. In the past 30 years, I can say this is going to the biggest win for the BJP in Gujarat.

And Himachal?

We are repeating in Himachal. In four states — UP, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa – the BJP was repeated and we will win Himachal and Gujarat. As you spoke about Gujarat, I was there a few days ago and did many programmes. The kind of support and respect PM Modi enjoys there is unbelievable. Modi is a factor, development is a factor. He has made good governance a role model for the country to follow.

What about the AAP. You have been belligerent in your attack against them…

Because they lie repeatedly. In the past seven-eight years, Kejriwal made numerous allegations and U turns. He even went to court and said sorry. Is this the right way? You make big promises and false allegations. The kind of politics he indulges in, he seems to be an artiste, an urban naxal…His kind of politics is not good for India. It’s not good for any state. You won Punjab election with support and I am not going against the voting because the people gave the mandate. But within three months, their health minister had to resign over corruption charges. There were 70 killings in Punjab in the past three months. One Hindu leader was shot dead two days ago in front of a policeman. Is it acceptable? It is a prosperous border state which has been given to AAP or their representatives and they don’t know what to do with it.

The kind of politics Kejriwal indulges in, he seems to be an artiste, an urban naxal…His kind of politics is not good for India. You won Punjab election…but within three months, the health minister had to resign over corruption charges. There were 70 killings in the past three months. Is it acceptable? It is a prosperous border state which has been given to AAP or their representatives and they don’t know what to do with it.

You are an MP from Himachal for four terms. In your constituency, when you look at the posters of the BJP, it is Brand Narendra Modi. Are we to believe that just like Uttarakhand, when the chief minister lost, but the state was won by PM Modi, is Brand Modi the biggest factor here?

You can’t deny that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji is among the world’s most popular leaders. He has been elected not once, but many times. He treats Himachal as his second home and Himachal treats Narendra Modi as one of its own. I don’t know about other states, but in Himachal, Modi ji is a big factor because people connect with him and he connects with people well. If you look at any of his rallies, he speaks in the local dialect, he talks about the things he used to do as in-charge of the party and he remembers the names of people he worked with about 20 or 30 years ago. It makes people believe in him. The way he has worked for the welfare of the poor and pro-development projects is a big sign for Himachal BJP that PM Modi is there for us. We are grateful to him for his support.

There is a collective leadership of the Congress. Recently, we saw the yuva neta of the Congress, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, campaign. Are you worried about the Congress?

We take every election seriously. Here, there is a direct fight between two political parties, the Congress and BJP. On many seats, the Congress has many serious leaders, who have been MLAs for a long period, but also have anti-incumbency against them. I feel it is good governance and development works by the BJP, which will help the party. Clean governance at the state and central level and the big projects given by PM Modi will be useful. We have delivered whatever we promised in the last manifesto.

What about the rebels? Are they a headache?

We have about 12-13 rebels, it could be a headache for anyone, but the voters are smart and intelligent. They know that voting for a political party will always help. They will support a party like the BJP, which believes in development. They have seen our work, they won’t go for the rebels.

My last question to you is I can see your popularity and connect in Himachal. What next for you in your political career?

I never aspired for anything in politics. I try to give my 100% in every responsibility I am given, be it as a youth wing president, MP, chairman of the standing committee, MoS or cabinet minister. When you deliver, people see your commitment. You can see that small kids also recognise you. They come to you. It feels like being part of a family, which is a big thing for me in such a large constituency, which has 17 MLAs and an area of more than 250 km. If you go to a remote village, even the smallest kid, who is aged three, four or six, takes a selfie with you, sings songs or chats with you. Youths are different, they connect because I am their age or a little elder to them. You look at women, they come with so much warmth and believe that I am like their brother or son. It is what I have earned in the past 15 years. It makes me emotional at times.

When you deliver, people see your commitment. You can see that small kids also recognise you…take selfies with you. Youths, women treat me like their brother, son. It is what I have earned in the past 15 years. Votes are not everything. The respect you earn matters. It makes you happy and inspires you to work more.

As a political person, votes are not everything. The respect you earn matters. In a remote area like Himachal, which is still better than many other states with its good infrastructure, education and other things, people are aware, well-educated and know what is happening on the ground and recognise your work. It makes you happy and inspires you to work more. I would like to connect more with Himachal Pradesh, get more projects and see more growth. If you look at remote areas like these, we have good quality roads, which is what we have achieved in the past 15-20 years.

On December 8, when we meet for another interview, what you will be telling me? What will the numbers be?

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Let me not give the number, let me just say we will win more seats than the last elections. I can see PM Modi’s popularity, his connect and Thakur’s work here. He has delivered on the ground. Jai Ram Thakur deserves another innings to rule the state and take it to the next level. There can’t be a better time to be on the hot seat as the CM because you are working with PM Modi at the national level. Jai Ram Thakur has got all the support to deliver and not many people get that. He deserves five more years.

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Location :
Shimla, India

First Published:
November 09, 2022, 15:05 IST