Jitendra Singh: I’m glad to be here, and I’m ready to respond to your questions.
Santwana Bhattacharya: You are back from Gujarat, and there was a Kashmir festival there. Your party has come to power in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya in alliances. The BJP is therefore entrenched in the northeast. When will we see your region, Jammu & Kashmir, in election mode?
Jitendra Singh: For the first part of your question on the northeast: I think it would be a case study of how PM Narendra Modi has transformed the BJP in the northeast. Indeed, a revolutionary transformation has taken place at different levels. There was a time when a government vehicle would be fired upon wherever it broke down, for example, in the Tura hills of Meghalaya. It’s all over now. The largest credit for this turn-around goes to PM Modi, who has gone ahead with his personal outreach. I can say so because I was in charge of the northeast all those years. The PM must have visited the northeast not less than 55 times in the last five-six years. So that kind of outreach, coupled with the swift development of the region, has bought about the much-needed transformation. (According to the Indian Railways, the railway network in the country’s northeastern states has been converted into a broad gauge. Between 2014 and 2017, a total of 972 km of track was converted into a broad gauge network. Except for Sikkim, the Indian Railways network now connects all of the North East states).
Similarly, you have an airport in every state capital of the region. We also have the first centre of excellence in citrus fruits (Mizoram), which has come up with technological assistance from Israel. That’s about a state with a little over a million population with a representation of only one MP in the Lok Sabha. Nothing has held us back. So, that change of narrative has enabled the Prime Minister and the party to win over the trust of the people. Today, tourism and aviation sectors have employed a large number of youths from the northeast: board a flight to Hyderabad, Chennai or Kochi, and you’d find the crew from the northeast.
Over to the second part of the question about Jammu and Kashmir. I think the responsibility lies with the Election Commission of India to decide when to hold the election. As far as I’m concerned, the party that I belong to is the one where the karyakartas (party workers) are in election mode 24x7and and 365 days a year.
Amit Mukherjee: In the G20 meeting on anti-corruption measures, any headway in dealing with fugitives and extradition?
Jitendra Singh: The very fact that we have sat together at such a high forum and spent three days discussing measures against corruption shows the seriousness of the matter. Until a few years back, such summits meant diplomatic matters about border disputes and things related to trade, business and commerce. Corruption, most importantly financial corruption, is a fundamental issue close to all societies. Therefore, we have a G20 position, plus more than ten other significant meetings.
Therefore, you get a sense of seriousness among various parties and friends, all of them sharing a common concern about corruption. It took us some time to realise that offenders often adopt a common modus operandi: they commit a crime here, then go to a country where the law is more convenient or friendly and get away. Meanwhile, they also get the time to park their money. Each country has sets of laws, the exploitation of which was resorted to by criminals. The common concern is we are on the same page regarding adopting common procedures, including data sharing. That is a huge headway happening.
Preetha Nair: People from Ladakh were protesting at Jantar Mantar demanding jobs…
Jitendra Singh: The people should ponder why no such protest took place in 70 years. This is because now they look at the Modi government as a responsive government. The first memorandum presented by them to make Ladakh a UT was submitted in 1948-49. Gradually fatigue set in. Eventually, this government responded to the demands and showed sensitivity. Earlier, those people were living in isolation, something like the northeast, as they hardly came to Delhi.
The level of aspiration has grown; they know the best place to protest is Jantar Mantar. This is a sign of the awakening and the credit for this goes to PM Modi. Of course, decisions should not be taken in haste.
Preetha Nair: The LG of Ladakh came eight times to Delhi to meet Union ministers...
Jitendra Singh: The LG is the proactive administrator who is focused on development works.
Shahid Faridi: Is the government is open to including Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution?
Jitendra Singh: I don’t want to comment on the matter. The home ministry will take a call. They take a holistic view.
Preetha Nair: Some of the BJP-ruled states are demanding the implementation of the Old Pension Scheme. What is your take?
Jitendra Singh: I don’t think there is any final word on this, as the new pension scheme came after due diligence, and a section of government employees is comfortable with it. Stakeholders across the country are in touch with us. We always take cognisance of everything. However, I will not be able to give sweeping, judgmental remarks because the inputs are coming from both sides.
Jitendra Chowbey: In line with Jai Jawan & Jai Kisan, if you look at the budget and the GDP ratio, it is 0.7%. How does the government plan to tackle the gap?
Jitendra Singh: I agree with you. The PM has given enough thought to research and development. We opened up the space innovation for private players which has led to mushrooming of startups in the sector. Similar initiatives were taken in the domain of atomic energy. For the first time, the Cabinet approved opening up the sector for joint venture on PPP model. I think all seven Independence Day addresses by the PM have talked about science.
Santwana Bhattacharya: We’ve recently had this news that maybe Covid virus escaped from Wuhan, and it could have been a manmade virus that came and landed in the Wuhan wet market. How concerned are you about the possibility of biological warfare? What is India’s stance?
Jitendra Singh: Talking as a science minister, I’m mandated to kill the virus, not to go back to the birth of the virus! I’m sure the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence would be taking cognizance of that and would be able to address that issue also.
Shahid Faridi: Is it true that Elon Musk wanted some permission to have his own satellite?
Jitendra Singh: I’m not going to comment on that… I’m not aware of that… maybe the aviation ministry would know.
Rajesh Kumar Thakur: Your government puts a lot of effort into good governance. However, there is a wide gap between the sanctioned strength of civil servants and the imposed intake. Is there a balance being approached?
Jitendra Singh: They have a committee that decides the number of officers to be reduced. Gradually, this deficit happened not for this reason but also because of other reasons involving legacy. Sometime in the late 90s, there was a sudden realisation that we don’t need so many officers. As a result, at the middle level, the joint secretary level and the other levels, we still have deficits. The government has tried to experiment with lateral entry to make up not only for the deficit but also to find out the best candidate for a given job.
Shahid Faridi: When will the drones be used to deliver pizzas in India?
Jitendra Singh: The first time our Bengaluru institute came out with a drone, the Covid pandemic had just set in. I personally went to at least three places to see a demonstration. We would put vaccine boxes of 2-4 kg onto the drone and make orders. The drone would go to the dispensary concerned, land on the top of the roof of the dispensary, and somebody would go and pick it up. It is not becoming a part of our natural behaviour. Otherwise, the technology is already there.
Santwana Bhattacharya: How do you think the abrogation of Art 370 has impacted the people; what are the positives and the difficulties you are still facing?
Ujwal Jalali: (Adding to it): The BJP government has been vocal on Kashmiri Pandits. However, the community is yet to be back to the Valley, and we see target killings happening again…
Jitendra Singh: It was a nightmare, the biggest exodus ever happened within the country since 1947. There are two parts to it: one is the intent, and the other is the action. As far as the intent is concerned, even when the exodus happened in 1990, it was none other than the BJP that came to their rescue, though we didn’t have the government at the centre nor at many places. Wherever we could exercise some influence...there were Murli Manohar Joshi and LK Advani who got their (Kashmiri Pandits) seats reserved in education in places like Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Even now, if a headway has been made, it is only by the government led by Prime Minister Modi. We are making sincere efforts to ensure that they return and jobs are created for them in the Valley.
As far as targeted killings are concerned, there is no answer to that. There is no alibi for that. There is no explanation for that. A loss of life is irreparable.
However, overall, you have not had a single stone-throwing incident in several years, and you don’t have militant-inspired hartals (shutdowns). Earlier, it was a modus operandi of the terrorists. If a Central leader visited the Valley, the shutdown call would come from Pakistan, and the shops would be shuttered in Srinagar. It is no longer the case now. You have the Home Minister visiting the Valley for 3-4 days, and you have Central leaders regularly visiting the Valley. In one year, we have had more than one crore tourists visiting J&K, and all hotels have been overbooked. Some legal intervention had to be made to check them. The entire J&K got exhausted, and even locals did not have a place in their houses to accommodate the tourists. There has been a sea change in the overall situation. The Kashmiri youth, including the Pandits, are highly aspirational compared to their peers from the other parts of the country.
They were already in civil services.
The targeted killings reflect the simple fact that terrorists are on the run. Just to make some news, they target not only the Pandits but also labourers from Bihar. Gradually it will also go away because the last remnants of militancy are now done away with.
Santwana Bhattacharya: Omar Abdullah was at one of our programmes in Chennai. Even he admitted that stone-pelting has stopped.
Jitendra Singh: I think the biggest evidence (of normalcy returning) is the Bharat Jodo Yatra that went on smoothly so comfortably that they (Congress leaders) were seen playing around with snow.
Then, the local body elections witnessed a 70-80% turnout. There was a time when voting was not even 10% in the Valley.
Santwana Bhattacharya: Is any thought given to the full restoration of statehood?
Jitendra Singh: I think the Home Minister has already spoken on the floor of Parliament that it will happen at an “appropriate time.” I need not add anything to it.
Jitendra Singh dons many hats – a medical doctor, a newspaper columnist, and a politician who is in-charge of several key portfolios, including PMO, in the Narendra Modi-led government. He takes questions on a range of issues – from BJP’s scintillating performance in the recently concluded polls in three northeastern states to elections in Jammu and Kashmir. Excerpts from the 4th edition of Delhi Dialogue at The New Indian Express