Q&A WITH SHIVRAJ SINGH CHOUHAN
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has had an eventful two-and-a-half months on the job after his party, the BJP, overthrew the Congress government just before the lockdown was clamped on March 25. Excerpts from an interview with
Rahul Noronha:
Q. Were the first 75 days of this term the toughest of all your days as chief minister? Challenges bring out the best in a leader. The coronavirus had already spread in Indore before I became CM, and there were no arrangements in place to deal with it. And it wasn’t the only challenge, the finances of the state had collapsed. In these 75 days, I have attempted to pull Madhya Pradesh out of the morass. Today, the virus is under control, active cases are down and the lockdown has helped us set up systems to deal with the situation right down to the base level. The Nisarga cyclone led to rainfall in the state and posed a challenge for the record 12.6 million tonnes of wheat we have procured. There were all sorts of adversities but we were equal to the challenge.
Q. How does the state plan to tide over the financial crisis? Should citizens brace themselves for new taxes or will the state cut back on its schemes?
We will have to find ways to do both, boost resources and continue with our schemes. An exercise is on to find new sources of revenue. Budgets have limits and we will have to find resources outside it to finance public works. The Centre has increased borrowing limits, but with riders linked to reforms. As far as state schemes are concerned, we will have to continue with many of them. When I took over, I was told there was no money, but we have spent Rs 26,000 crore on issues involving students, women and migrant workers. We will also have to invest in infrastructure to ensure employment.
Q. There are allegations that the lockdown was delayed so that the BJP could pull down the Congress government in MP?
The lockdown was announced in the country on March 24 and it was announced the same day in MP too; there were no different dates involved. MP’s problem was the lack of preparations by the earlier government to deal with critical issues. There were preparations for the IIFA film awards but no meetings to tackle Covid.
Q. When is the cabinet expansion happening? Is it being delayed because the BJP is worried about crossvoting in the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19?
After the Covid outbreak in the state, we decided not to rush into cabinet expansion. I myself was told on the evening of March 23 that I would have to take oath later that day as the lockdown was to be enforced. The party will decide and the cabinet expansion will take place soon. The central leadership has told me the expansion will be done after a round of discussions. Everyone in the BJP is committed to the party and there is no threat of any kind in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Q. There are 24 assembly byelections due in MP. Will these be contested under Brand Shivraj or Brand (Jyotiraditya) Scindia? Could he be a future CM candidate for the BJP in MP?
The elections will be held in the name of the BJP. Scindiaji is a very popular leader. All of us in the BJP, Narendra Singh Tomar, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Narottam Mishra, Prabhat Jha, state president B.D. Sharma and the organisation will contest the bypolls together. There is no doubt that there will be an advantage with Scindiaji’s entry. As for the future, in the BJP, individuals do not decide what role they will perform, it is the organisation that decides.
“( Jyotiraditya) Scindiaji is a very popular leader... but in the BJP, individuals do not decide their own roles, the organisation decides”