He’s a chief minister who’s every decision and achievement is compared to that of his illustrious predecessor – Narendra Modi. But Vinay Rupani is confident of the work he’s done as Gujarat Chief Minister over the past year as he heads into polls later this year.
In an interview to The Print, Rupani speaks about politics and governance in Gujarat after Modi.
How has governance changed in the state after exit of PM Modi?
For good governance, the system needs to be institutionalised because ministers and bureaucrats change. We are a policy-driven state.
We had been governing on the basis of the institutionalised system set up by Modi-bhai. The focus is on overall development.
A target of 150 seats has been set by BJP party president Amit Shah for the upcoming assembly polls in Gujarat. Is it achievable?
In the 2014 election, we won 73 out of 80 seats in UP. In Gujarat, we won 26 Lok Sabha seats.
I remember ahead of the UP results Amit-bhai had come for a core group meeting and everyone had questions about UP. He told us that BJP will form government on its own and we will get 250 seats. Yet we got higher and same will be repeated in Gujarat.
Fortunately, the Congress too has witnessed a split. And for one seat in Rajya sabha, Ahmed-bhai has drowned Congress in Gujarat just like Sonia-ji drowned the Congress across the country due to her love for son.
#Exclusive @vijayrupanibjp tells @pragyakaushika he’s confident of meeting the target set for him in the Gujarat election later this year pic.twitter.com/N00wPTW33w
— ThePrint (@ThePrintIndia) September 2, 2017
Do you see a role for a third front in the Gujarat election?
A third front is neither relevant and nor acceptable in Gujarat. The main contest is between the BJP and the Congress. And we are fighting the Congress.
Congress today has no neta (leader), no niti (policy) and no niyat (intent).
It is being said that division in the Congress is due to the BJP?
The Congress split is its own doing. We had no role in it.
What are your achievements as CM?
I had been in the government as CM for one year and when I assumed office I told everyone that I am here for a 20-20 match. I have taken 475 decisions and I have spoken about the four pillars of governance: Transparency, decisive government, sensitive government and progressive government.
I sat in Banaskantha for five days and the impact is visible on people. People were positive about us. I could not hear any opposition against the government. In five days, I declared a Rs 1,500 crore package for relief work. Like this, we tackled swine flu. Doctors asked me to not meet patients but I went. We spread awareness in every household.
Prime Minister Modi has introduced politics of development, unlike earlier when politics was all about caste and religion…
We have to maintain standards – even if we go down by few decimals, media will pull us up. We are glad about it. There should be a competition when it comes to development. We are trying to maintain this.
We introduced a flagship scheme called SewaSetu which reaches the poor and gives them access to government benefits. We started Seema Darshan, festivities near border area of Banaskantha which touched the Pakistan border. We have distributed tablets and the amount generated will be used to make university campuses wi-fi. We generated five lakh jobs.
How do you see the Patidar agitation impacting your success in elections?
The government has remained positive towards the Patidars. We are in talks with Patidar leaders who are joining us, and who are part of the movement. We told them that there are judgments by the courts where courts have rejected the appeal to give more than 50 percent reservation to any community.
Within six months of this movement we lost one rural election and won one in an urban area. But later on we won 10,000 gram panchayat seats and the Patidar community was there as well.
What have you done to counter Patidar movement and agitations for reservations?
We have started Mukhyamnatri Yuva Swavlamban Yojana where students who cannot attain the high cut-off get admission in self-financed colleges. The government will pay 50 percent of the fee apart from the expenses incurred on books and hostel lodging.
You brought in a bill on cow slaughter bill? What was the need?
We introduced the harshest law against cow slaughter and mandated that such people will be given life imprisonment. The cow is not just a symbol of faith, but it is vital for the financial health of many villagers as production of milk products generates employment.
Jersey cows will not be promoted. We are focussing on desi breeds like Gir and Kakrech that produces 20 to 25 litres of milk. We are establishing Nandi Grams in every taluka to improve the breed.