Manner in which MLAs rebelled a slap on the face of Congress: Rajeev Bindal

Raking up the contentious issue of religion-based reservation, state BJP president Rajeev Bindal today dared Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to announce reservation for Muslims in Himachal, this being the highlight of Congress manifesto. Bindal, a firebrand leader, faces the tough challenge of ensuring a clean sweep for his party, which had won all four Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and 2019. Notwithstanding the poll defeat Bindal had suffered in the 2022 Assembly elections, he is clear that protecting Sanatan Dharma and the construction of the Ram Mandir will prove to be a major vote catcher in the hill state. He shared his views in an interview with Pratibha Chauhan ahead of polling for the four Lok Sabha seats and the six Assembly byelections. Excerpts:

The Congress needs to introspect as to why such a rebellion happened. You can imagine how bad the situation was that three Independent MLAs also chose to resign from the Assembly than to suffer humiliation at the hands of the Chief Minister and his coterie. Four of the six rebel Congress MLAs had won three or four elections, so was it possible that they would have fallen into the trap of the BJP.

The Congress is accusing the BJP of indulging in divisive politics. What is your take?

The fact remains that the Congress is leaderless, visionless and bankrupt and senior leaders are deserting the party. Amidst this grim scenario, the Congress is talking of providing reservation to Muslims. I dare Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu to clarify whether Muslims in Himachal will be given reservation by reducing the OBC quota, as had been done in Karnataka. If he could make a statement that the Congress had defeated the BJP in Himachal having 97 per cent Hindu population after the party’s victory in the 2022 Assembly elections, why was he hesitant to announce reservation for Muslims now. Also, I challenge him to repeat the same statement he made in 2022 or else he is a coward.

There are murmurs of resentment among your leaders and party cadre, who are demoralised after six Congress rebels were given BJP ticket, ignoring senior leaders who have been loyal to the party.

Let me make it clear that the BJP is a cadre-based party where no leader, howsoever senior, can lay claim to the ticket from a constituency. It is totally up to the party to decide the role of any leader, whether in the government or the organisation. JP Nadda had first served as Union Health Minister, then he was BJP national general secretary and finally BJP national president. The party decides the role of every leader, as per the situation and the assigned roles can keep changing. Leaders in the BJP are not guided by self-interest and the party is supreme. All leaders and workers of the party are working tirelessly for the victory of their candidates.

The BJP is being accused of encouraging horse-trading to destabilise the Congress government post the Rajya Sabha elections in Himachal. What is your defence ?

Four of the six Congress MLAs, who revolted against their party, had won three or four elections, so was it possible that they would have fallen into the trap of the BJP. The manner in which they rebelled against the dictatorial attitude of the government and walked out was a slap on the face of the Congress. So why blame us?

Rather, the Congress needs to introspect as to why such a big rebellion happened. You can imagine how bad the situation must have been that three Independent legislators also chose to resign from the Assembly rather than suffer humiliation at the hands of the Chief Minister and his coterie. If MLAs are so agonised, imagine the plight of common peoper under the Congress regime.

How do you rate the chances of the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly bypoll ?

All our candidates for the four Lok Sabha seats or the six Assembly bypoll are way ahead of their Congress rivals. The party is united and working tirelessly for the victory of its nominees.

What are the major poll planks that you are hoping will garner voters’ support ?

First and the foremost, the able leadership of Narendra Modi ji for the past 10 years is our biggest strength. Then tremendous work has been done on creating a network of four-lane highways, including Kangra-Shimla, Pathankot-Mandi, Kiratpur-Mandi and national highways coupled with the construction of bridges and the extension of the rail line up to Bilaspur. The thrust is on “Vikas bhi-Virasat bhi” and the construction of the Ram Mandir is part of this initiative.

The second issue is the complete failure of the Congress government in Himachal whether it is about development, governance, corruption or the deteriorating law and order. “Congress ne janata ke saath dhoka kiya hai” as none of the guarantees given before the last Assembly elections has been fulfilled. Forms are being filled to provide Rs 1,500 monthly financial assistance to women to fool them with an eye on the elections.