Chhattisgarh CM Baghel takes Ram’s name but stands with those involved in conversion: Raman Singh

In an exclusive interview, ex-CM rejects perception he has been sidelined in BJP, suggests conspiracy behind killings of BJP workers & questions Congress govt's claims of development.

File photo of former Chhattisgarh CM and senior BJP leader Raman Singh | ANI

Raipur: “Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel takes the name of Ram but stands with those involved in religious conversions,” Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president and former CM Raman Singh has said, questioning the Congress-led government’s claims of development and suggesting a conspiracy behind the “targeted” killings of BJP workers in the state.

He rejects the general perception that he has been sidelined in the party and says he will contest his last election when Chhattisgarh goes to the polls later this year. In a freewheeling interview with D.K. Singh, the former chief minister also dwells on his successor’s ‘soft Hindutva’ politics, the BJP’s face in the next election, and Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids against Congress leaders and government functionaries, among other hot-button issues. Excerpts:

Chhattisgarh’s model of development arrived before the Gujarat Model. That too, when not much time had passed since it became a separate state…

In 2003, we got the chance to form a government in Chhattisgarh and remained in power for the next 15 years. A separate Chhattisgarh was formed with a view to development. While it was part of Madhya Pradesh, this region was a victim of regional imbalance in terms of development.

We had nothing in the name of development. No roads, bridges, schools, or hospitals. As the chief minister, I was faced with three issues. People were migrating from the state in lakhs, there were deaths caused by starvation, and malnutrition was also a big problem. Our position was the worst in the country in terms of the infant mortality rate, measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), and malnutrition.

In such a situation, under the Chhattisgarh Model, we focused on the paddy crop. Paddy cultivation in Chhattisgarh is not just farming, but a part of the lifestyle. We reformed the system of paddy production, its procurement, and then distribution, as the three complement each other. That meant first increasing the production, then the procurement, and then the distribution. In the Chhattisgarh Model, we fixed all these three systems.

We improved the procurement process and started the system of giving bonuses on paddy. Under the distribution system, we implemented the Chief Minister’s Food Security Scheme for the poor in which initially, arrangements were made to provide rice at Re 1 per kg to about 58 lakh people. Then we converted this scheme into food security and nutritional security. To meet the deficiency of protein, people were first given gram, and then we noticed that there was iodine deficiency in Bastar and Surguja, so salt was also distributed for free. This is how we made it a complete package.

To promote the agriculture sector, even more systems were changed, and the 16 per cent interest charged on agricultural loans in the state was reduced to 9 per cent. This 9 per cent was further reduced to 6, and then 3 per cent. We started giving loans to people through cooperative banks at a zero interest rate. This strengthened the system, brought down the cost of production and fetched them better prices.

Another major issue was healthcare. For health security, we introduced smart cards. These were made for about 50 lakh families and a free treatment facility of up to Rs 50,000 was given to each person. Then, we shifted our focus to infrastructure. We diverted all our energy into laying a network of roads, and making arrangements for electricity.

When you were the CM, you had the image of a Chief Minister who performed brilliantly. You remained at the helm for 15 years and then after an election defeat (the party lost the 2018 election), suddenly it seemed that you had disappeared from the political scene. People want to know what Raman Singh is doing these days. Where and how active are you these days?

While I fulfill the responsibility given to me at the national level, whenever there is a need in the state, I do stand with the public, with full force against this government. Naddaji ((BJP national president J.P Nadda) just came here and a big movement took place under his leadership. There was also a big movement of women and Smriti Irani also came to participate in it. There have been similar events in Bastar and Surguja. This government has been in power for only four years and three-four months, but there is disgruntlement against it as it has failed on all fronts.

You are 70 years old, fit and fine. Are you up for another stint as CM if the BJP wins?

(Laughs) It is the party that decides who the CM should be. But there is definitely the responsibility of campaigning for the party through the entire election. The main goal is to remove the Congress government from power…. I am a worker of the party and when I was given the responsibility, I discharged it. I was a Union minister when I was told to come to Chhattisgarh as state president in 2003, so I came here. Then I was made chief minister not once or twice but three times…When the party takes a decision, Dr Raman Singh considers it his responsibility to implement it 100 per cent.

At the political level, there is a general perception that Raman Singh has been sidelined in the BJP. When we talk to your party colleagues in Delhi, they say they are trying to promote new leadership in the states. In Chhattisgarh, we have been waiting to see a new leadership for a long time, but that hasn’t happened yet….

Elections are fought under a collective leadership and in the first three elections too, though I became the CM, the election was never contested with me as the chief ministerial candidate. It is for the party to decide whether the election will be contested under someone’s leadership. But in the BJP, generally all of us contest elections under a collective leadership.

D Purandeshwari, who was in charge of the state, made a statement a few months back that Narendra Modi would be the face for the election, and the CM will be decided later. This somehow sends out a message that Raman Singh is being sidelined…

One thing is clear, whether it is Chhattisgarh or Madhya Pradesh, or any other state, in all the elections we contest, Narendra Modi is the biggest personality. Elections are fought on the basis of our strategy, which is built around PM Modi. It is Modi’s name, his work of taking the country to a historic position in eight-and-a-half years, that continues. The Chhattisgarh election will also be fought in the name of Modiji, and we will win.

How do you rate your successor Bhupesh Baghel’s performance?

This government of four-and-a-half years has passed the time only by raising slogans….No work has been done on infrastructure. Please tell me if a kilometre of road, a new building, or a new institution has been built…There is only corruption. 

You know that earlier when Chhattisgarh was mentioned, there was talk of development. Now, when you mention the state, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CD are talked about. On one hand, there are ED raids (in connection with an alleged coal levy scam); on the other, the CD case is going on in the Supreme Court. What would you say about a CM with such a reputation? 

The government has become so corrupt. Illegal recovery is being made not only in coal but also in liquor sales. …They are making Rs 20 per sack of cement, and Rs 2,000 per truck of sand. So in a way, Bhupesh Baghel’s tenure will be remembered for ED and CD, for corruption and for zero development.

But he (Baghel) is still winning the bypolls. He obviously enjoys public support…

Generally, the ruling party gets support in the by-elections or mid-term elections, and so did they. Only eight months are left for the assembly election. It will become clear in eight months how the people of Chhattisgarh are going to reject the Congress.

Bhupesh Baghel says that nothing has been found so far in the ED investigation. All this is motivated by political vendetta and central agencies have always been doing this, he says.

His statement that nothing has come out in the ED investigation is ridiculous. They have documents related to transactions worth more than Rs 540 crore, and his IAS officers, key officials related to mining and businessmen are in jail and multiple cases are going on. Raids are being conducted daily and the ED has the documents that will eventually be in the public domain.

The three-day national convention of the All India Congress Committee ended recently (in Raipur)…

So much money was wasted to please one family. When Priyanka (Gandhi Vadra) arrived, rose petals covered the road for up to two kilometres, while elsewhere, a convoy of hundreds of vehicles was used. Crores were wasted on the three-day session but I doubt if any political discussion or political debate took place or any roadmap was made regarding the Congress. Despite the Congress being in such bad shape, I do not think that its national executive took any decisive decision or prepared any roadmap for 2024. Bhupesh Baghel put all his energy into making three members of a family happy.

The Congress’s strategy seems to be clear. Rahul Gandhi will be the face of the party in 2024. After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the Congress is feeling that it is getting closer to power. What would you say to this?

We know what the Congress’s position was before and after the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The party is divided even in states where it has a marginal presence. They should first unite the party.

Do you see any change in Rahul Gandhi after the Bharat Jodo Yatra?

(Laughs) Yes, the change is visible in that his beard has grown. Second, he has shown that he is adept at running and has prepared to run in the next marathon. He can travel long distances. His personality may have changed, but I do not think he has been able to convey any specific message.

At the AICC session in Chhattisgarh, the Congress said that the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana is a model that should be adopted by other states as well…

In Chhattisgarh, we started the scheme of giving bonuses and they have only carried it forward. Back then also, I had said that the Chhattisgarh Model is an ideal model for the country and I stand by it even today.

The Congress claims it’s giving a substantial input subsidy and that during the Raman Singh government, the MSP on paddy was Rs 1,800-1,900, which has increased to over Rs 2,700 per quintal.

We will see what we can do about it before the elections.

CM Bhupesh Baghel is said to be pursuing ‘soft Hindutva’. They are claiming that Lord Ram was the nephew of Chhattisgarh. A whole tourist circuit is being developed around the route Ram-Sita took. They are also promoting the gobar economy. Can their soft Hindutva blunt the edge of your Hindutva narrative?

There is no such thing as soft Hindutva. They may be talking like this, but have they done any work related to religion, related to Ram? They talk about Ram Gaman Path (Ram’s route). But Ram Gaman Path is a part of the plan of the central government, which gave its approval, and the work has also started. Bhupesh Baghel only coins slogans and makes empty promises; he has no faith in Ram. Tribals are being converted in Bastar and when they take to the streets against it, they are put in jail. Conversions are taking place in the entire state at his behest. On one hand, they take the name of Ram and on the other, they stand with those who convert. They torture those tribals who are against conversion.

The Congress claims that it started the gobar economy and that RSS people also sought work from them. Your reaction to this?

Gobar economy or Narwa Garwa Ghurwa Bari, they are the country’s biggest flops. Tall claims were made but nothing has been done. There is neither arrangement of water nor straw and fodder… There are no boundary walls, and there is no arrangement for doctors either. All the cows and buffaloes live on the roads…Just as everyone knows about Lalu Yadav’s fodder scam, in the future, people will be talking about the cow dung scam.

(Under the state government’s Narwa Garwa Ghurwa Bari scheme of 2019, gauthans were to be built in villages where pet cattle as well as strays were to be kept. The gobar economy model, introduced in 2020, involved the state government in buying cow dung from cattle owners, and using it to make vermicompost.)

Maoists were a big challenge when you became the CM for the first time. As it is, their area of influence might have shrunk but they continue to be a big threat. They have killed three BJP workers in recent times…

These were targeted killings. Four prominent BJP workers were murdered in four districts. Six-seven policemen have also been martyred in the last 15 days. And they say that they will end the problem of Maoists. The security of BJP workers is being removed…In this situation, how can we say that Maoism has reduced anywhere?

Your party earlier hinted at a possible conspiracy…

I have said this earlier also, that such incidents raise suspicion that somewhere our workers are being identified and killed. And there could be a conspiracy behind this as well…. The role and willpower of the state is important to put pressure on Maoists. (Union home minister) Amit Shah gave a lot of force, and the cooperation sought from the state was given. The central government extended full support from its side. But unless the chief minister has the will, and there is a campaign in all the affected districts, Maoists cannot be chased away. This government takes one step forward and two steps back.

This time when Chawal wale baba goes to the public seeking a fourth term in office, what would he offer them?

We will go to the public with two issues. Look at the achievements of the Modi government in eight years and four months, and then look at the achievements of the 15 years of BJP rule in the state. The double-engine government that is talked about in the country is important for Chhattisgarh. We can take the state forward with the support of the central government.

(Edited by Smriti Sinha)