Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan believes that the attempts at opposition unity will not work in his state because his government has delivered. Admitting that the state was still low on some indices like infant and maternal mortality rates, he said he was working on those issues on a priority basis.
Accusing the Congress of fomenting trouble in his state, he said the Mandsaur agitation over agricultural prices had been engineered by unsocial elements with vested interests. Conceding that bumper crops had impacted prices and caused distress to farmers, he said the government had made “many interventions to protect farmers’ incomes. This year alone we have given Rs 465 per quintal bonus for wheat to farmers on top of the Minimum Support Prices.”
Replacing low paid teaching posts created by the earlier regime with much better paid positions had led to the government schools doing better than private ones in his state, he added. Arguing that the BJP did not have the right numbers to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, he said a consensus on the issue was needed among all parties.
'Elections are won on the basis of performance'
While admitting that Madhya Pradesh still has to make progress on education and health, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan believes Opposition attempts at unity wouldn’t work on his home turf because the people would look at performance and not faces. Accusing the Congress of trying to cause disaffection among the people, Chouhan tells The New Sunday Express that his government has proactively engaged with farmers after the Mandsaur incident last year to address their
genuine grievances.
The BJP boasts about Madhya Pradesh. You also claim that the BJP government brought MP out of the BIMARU club in the last 15 years. But NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has said that BIMARU states, including MP, are holding back India’s development.You may also have seen clarifications he (Kant) had issued, saying that MP has made good achievements in agriculture and infrastructure. But there are some indicators of health, including infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal mortality rate (MMR), and education, on which MP is lagging behind.
In our time, we have tried to significantly reduce IMR and MMR. But still much more is needed to achieve the desired results. In the field of education, the Congress governments in the past had abolished the regular education cadre and had in place appointed Guruji and Shiksha Mitra. Guruji used to be paid monthly Rs 500, while Shiksha Mitra got in the range of Rs1,500-Rs 2,200 a month. How could they have built the future of children when their own futures were under a question mark? We have tried to bring education back on track by abolishing cadres of Guruji and Shiksha Mitra. We restored regular teachers who now get salaries of Rs 35,000-Rs 40,000 a month. Now, good people can join the teaching career. This year’s Board results show that the government schools have done better than private schools.
Madhya Pradesh saw a violent farmers’ agitation last year. More agitations are apparently being planned. On one hand MP has seemingly achieved high agricultural growth, yet farmers are under stress. How do you look at this irony?
The Mandsaur incident last year wasn’t part of farmers’ agitation. Some anti-social elements with vested interests had triggered the protests. The Congress is still trying hard to create disturbances at various places. The Congress men are entering in ‘Mandis’ (farm produce procurement centres) and create nuisance.
But farmers had been so stressed over the price crash that many of them dumped their produce on roads in protest...
The problem in agriculture has been of bumper crops. When we took power in the state only seven lakh hectares of land were under irrigation facilities. We improved it to 41 lakh hectares. There had equally been high agricultural growth for many years in the state. The consequent bumper crops affected the prices, which crashed. We have made many interventions to protect farmers’ incomes. This year alone we have given Rs 465 per quintal bonus for wheat to farmers on top of the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs).
Farmers complain that they don’t get MSPs and are made to sell their produces under duress.
Farmers in MP have access to MSPs along with bonus. There is direct transfer of funds in their bank accounts, which eliminates middlemen. We are making efforts to address the issue of price crash. Incidentally, the market prices of garlic have currently crashed in the state on account of bumper crops. The government has now taken up the task of advising farmers on what and how much to sow to fetch remunerative prices on top priority, besides the Bhavantar (paying farmers difference of market price and MSPs).
You’re hailed as “Mamaji” in the state on account of schemes for girl children and women. You’ve also introduced women’s reservation in local bodies and recruitments. Since you’re also a member of BJP’s Parliamentary Board, do you think time has come for your party to help the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill in the Lok Sabha?
The BJP has always been in support of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament. We, in fact, have given reservation to women in the state. We have seen women mayors who are doing well. In fact, the mayor of Indore, which has topped the cleanliness ranking in the country, is a woman, The BJP has consistently been in favour of reservation for women in Parliament. But, we don’t have the right numbers in Parliament, and thus need to build consensus on the issue among all political parties.
How do you look at the Karnataka verdict, the upcoming Assembly elections and the 2019 general elections?
The Karnataka verdict was in BJP’s favour. The BJP emerged the single largest party in the state. It will have a positive impact on Assembly elections in MP, Chhatishgarh and Rajasthan later this year.
The Congress is making an apparent show of unity in MP. Is it a threat for the BJP?
We have seen that no elections could be won by showing a semblance of unity or by presenting faces. Elections are won the on the basis of performances. Even neutral observers note that MP under the BJP government has performed quite well. The BJP will go into the elections on the basis of performance. We will remind the people of the pre-2003 Madhya Pradesh and the state of 2018. People in the state can’t forget the Congress misrule before they were ousted in 2003.
Can you illustrate the performance factor in MP?
The per capita income in the state in 2003 was Rs 13,000. It’s now at Rs 79,000. There’s no village in the state without road connectivity. Top two rankings in cleanliness for Indore and Bhopal demonstrate the progress in urban development. The state has now become power surplus. We interlinked Narmada-Shipra rivers and many more projects are being undertaken. From seven lakh hectares under irrigation facilities, we took it to 42 lakh hectares, besides setting target of 80 lakh hectares. We have worked on crop diversification and value addition in agriculture. In Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna, MP is building eight lakh houses in rural and five lakh in urban areas.
What’s your view on the debate surrounding the 15th Finance Commission on progressive versus poor states?
I don’t want to comment on this issue at this point of time.
Interview
Shivraj Chouhan
Madhya Pradesh CM