It is time to talk about AAP’s downslide: Sukhbir Singh Badal

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal tells Viney Sharma in an exclusive interview that AAP’s downward slide has begun and his party’s main rival is Congress.

Excerpts:

What will be your party’s strategy to tackle drugs if voted back to power?
We have dented the pipeline through record seizures and arrests and even arrested BSF personnel. Nearly three lakh persons have been de-addicted. The Congress government, prior to ours, did little to control the menace. It is the opposition and Rahul Gandhi who started this propaganda by claiming 70 per cent youth in Punjab were drug addicts. AAP is following the Congress in spreading the canard.

What about UNDP report and AIIMS saying that Punjab youth are into drugs?
The AIIMS survey has clearly mentioned that only 0.84 per cent of the adult population of Punjab use drugs. There is a lot of difference between this figure and 70 per cent referred to by Rahul Gandhi. This is a vindication of our stand that the drug problem in Punjab has been vastly exaggerated.

How do explain AAP’s rise in Punjab?
It is time to talk about AAP’s downslide. It started after Kejriwal betrayed the trust of the Punjabi farmers on the SYL issue by first stating Punjab did not have excess water to give Haryana and later supporting Haryana’s stand in the Supreme Court.

Recently, the party earned the wrath of the Sikh community when its leader Ashish Khetan compared the party’s youth manifesto with the Guru Granth Sahabji. The party’s in-charge for Punjab, Naresh Yadav, is being investigated for alleged desecration of the holy Quran in Malerkotla.

The divisive politics of AAP and the anarchy it wishes to introduce in Punjab are before the people. The party has been thoroughly exposed. AAP will be a bit player in the next assembly elections.

Will you approach the 2017 elections differently following AAP’s emergence?
AAP is a bit player. It will meet the same fate as Manpreet Badal’s People’s Party of Punjab. Our main fight will be with the Congress.

How do you rate your government’s nine-year performance?
Punjab is a power surplus state today. This has boosted industrial sector besides bringing in more investment. Punjab has the best road network today. Every major city is linked through four-lane highways. Two international airports have also come up. The last nine years have seen a record investment in infrastructure in rural areas. It’s been a win-win situation for the people.

But why do you continue with the Atta-Dal scheme that covers half the population?
It is the responsibility of the state to cater to each and every section of society. This scheme caters to all below the poverty line. They are assured ration at subsidised cost to help them live a dignified life.

How do you rate Punjab’s fiscal health?
It is much better than some of the most progressive states.