‘Pushkar Singh Dhami is the goal scorer for BJP’

Rajya Sabha MP Anil Baluni Who is also the BJP’s national media chief, speaks on the reasons for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttarakhand, several changes of chief ministers in the state and denies any controversy within the party.

BJP changed three CMs in Uttarakhand within a year. In what way is this going to be a good message in the election?

The change in CM reflects our thinking that like football whoever is closer to the goal post is given a pass. Thus Trivendra Singh Rawat delivers the ball to Pushkar Singh Dhami and he will be the striker to score. Whatever is necessary for the state of Uttarakhand and its welfare will be done.

There were issues like Devasthanam Board Act which hurt sentiments in the state but it has not been changed yet.

In the time of Trivendra Rawat, we had established the Devasthanam Board, we have Char Dham Uttarakhand and Devbhoomi (Abode of the Gods – a word that refers to Uttarakhand) There were many such religious places. but we found that they had some uneasiness panda And priests In these places of worship they are our brothers and part of our society and hence, we formed a committee under the leadership of our senior leader and MP Manohar Kant Dhyaniji to review the act to remove all the objections to the board and constituted a committee. .

When Tirath Singh Rawat was appointed chief minister, was it not a fact that he would need to contest a by-election to the assembly? Then why was it removed?

When he was made the chief minister, a little over a year was left for the term of the assembly. But circumstances intervened in the form of second wave of COVID19 when by-elections or any other elections were not being held and thus such a decision had to be taken.

Bye-elections have been held for West Bengal and other Legislative Assemblies; Couldn’t there have been elections for one seat in Uttarakhand?

At that particular time (when Tirath Singh Rawat resigned) there was no chance of elections and as more days were going on and assembly elections were near, we had to take a decision which we did.

The major regional rivalry in Uttarakhand is said to be Kumaon vs Garhwal. Now a Chief Minister of Kumaon is being told that there is widespread resentment in the Garhwal area, which is considered a stronghold of the BJP.

I myself am from Garhwal along with Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank as well as many other senior BJP leaders. Thus I can tell you that there is no such resentment. This may be a matter of media speculation, but not the ground reality.

The BJP has started something called the Assam model, where it is not necessary to repeat the chief minister under whom the party wins elections. It is being said that the same can be repeated for Uttarakhand.

What is decided later is a matter of the party, but the reality is that the captain of our team is Pushkar Singh Dhami and our entire team is fighting with him. State unit chief Madan Kaushik will lead the party and Dhamiji will lead the government. Our aim is to win the election.

What do you consider to be the achievement of the government through these chief ministerial changes with which you will go to the people?

The BJP-led Uttarakhand government is zero tolerance towards corruption and we have a record that no corruption allegations have been made at our doorstep. This is a big departure from the Harish Rawat government of Congress. Under Congress, it used to have politics of appeasement. Devbhoomi; The then Chief Minister Harish Rawat used to visit only the holy temples of a particular community and established Jumma holiday. When BJP came to power, we made sure that we take every community along and end the politics of appeasement. Our government provides ₹1/litre of water in the state and has covered every household under Atal Ayushman Yojana. Uttarakhand is the first state where women have equal rights on property.

Big scam seen in Haridwar Kumbh over fake testing and other controversies, will this affect your chances?

You people wrongly compared Prayag Kumbh with Haridwar Kumbh. The testing scam you are talking about was not of the level that has been shown, there are some issues but the government is dealing with it.