Dressed in a white cotton kurta, amid a bunch of books in a room in Raipur, sits one of the country’s best performing state ministers. Oblivious to the controversy he has kicked off by praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TS Singh Deo — Chhattisgarh’s deputy chief minister who holds a plethora of important portfolios like Energy, Public Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, 20-point implementation and Commercial Taxes (GST) — was clear: he is a person who is not “adversarial” to the prime minister of India.
Earlier last week, Deo said, “We have worked under the guidance of the Centre and I do not want to miss out on saying that, in my experience, I did not feel any partiality.” The statement kicked off a political storm, with BJP using his video to seek Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s apology for maligning the Centre. However, Deo says he did not praise Modi but showed regard for the prime minister in whose programme he had the “honour to be present as a representative of Chhattisgarh”.
The Congress leader, with whom PM Modi later shook hands, said though he has his grievances which he will write to the Centre about, there were previous instances when the state received bonus funds for central projects.
At a time when an increasing number of chief ministers — from Mamata Banerjee to MK Stalin — accuse the Centre of step-motherly treatment to opposition states, Deo’s endorsement from a poll-bound state gives the BJP a shot in the arm.
In a freewheeling interview to News18, the deputy CM of Chhattisgarh talks about his reported ‘apology’ to Kharge over his words of praise for PM Modi, Raman Singh’s allegation that Congress enabled Naxalism in the state to Deo’s chief ministerial ambitions.
Edited excerpts:
You swept to power with 68 seats in 2018. The BJP is claiming the Congress is on its way out. Do you think the Congress can retain Chhattisgarh and if yes, can Congress reach the 68-mark this time?
One should never underestimate one’s opponent whether in politics or a playing field. It will be almost like the sun rising from the west if the BJP wins. The Congress government has done well. One can’t fulfill 100 per cent promises if you compare it to the manifesto. Last year, Delhi discounted Congress in Chhattisgarh because of the Jogi factor. But, as you rightly said, we won 68 seats. Our party men are looking at 75+ seats this time. It’s easier to get there from where we are after winning a few more bypolls. But for the BJP, it’s a long journey. I would be disappointed if we get anything less than 60. I am expecting something between 60 to 75 seats.
How do you rate Bhupesh Baghel’s tenure?
I would give it seven out of 10. He missed out on three marks because he could not deliver some things. It is not possible to deliver 100 per cent. We should not exaggerate even while assessing ourselves. A reasonable assessment will be seven, which is pretty good.
Raman Singh told News18 that the Congress is enabling Naxalism. How would you respond?
It is sad coming from Dr Raman Singh who seems to have forgotten the Jhelum Ghati massacre in 2013 just before the election when he was the chief minister. We lost 30-odd people. Compared to that period, Naxalism has reduced considerably. It’s an effort headed by the state government where the Union government’s subsidiary forces and the state police are under the joint command of the chief minister. Incidents have come down by more than half. It’s not zero. The government reach in Naxal-infested areas has doubled. Earlier, there were 210 villages where the state had no presence. This has now reduced to less than 100 villages.
You recently praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he doesn’t discriminate. Do you stand by your comment?
If you go through my comment, I did not praise him profusely. You see when I started, I said: “We welcome you in Chhattisgarh, sir.” He signaled a ‘pranam’. Then I went on to say when we work in a federal structure … I have, in my experience, not seen that the Union government has not responded (when asked for help). If we asked, we got [help]. And we will ask for our rights. It is not a gift from the Centre. I said: “Humare Haq Hum Maangte Hain, Aur Saathi Ke Taur Par Aap Dete Ho.” In a subtle way, I put forth the tensions that sometimes occur in Centre-state relations.
That is something we have seen being raised by many states recently…
I am not loud. I say things where people who have to understand get my point. I have repeated the phrase federal structure at least three times. It wasn’t praise for Modi. It was regards for the prime minister in whose programme I had the honour to be present as a representative of Chhattisgarh. In the interest of Chhattisgarh, I was reaching out to the prime minister of the country.
If you listen to the last part, I said we hope to continue this relationship. Many people rang me to congratulate me as I was able to say in the same breath that Congress is coming back to power in the state, while asking him to maintain the same relationship if he comes back as prime minister. On September 7, our chief minister did not hesitate to mention to Nitin Gadkari that he gives us more than we ask for. I have done the same, but with the prime minister. I certainly didn’t praise Modi. But, I am not a person who wishes to have an adversarial attitude either.
But Bhupesh Baghel immediately took an opposite stand. What do you have to say to that?
When I am sitting with you, of course we are partners in the progress of the state. But surely, off the record, I mentioned many things that did not come out. I told him that I will give him in writing. But when I was panchayat minister of the state, we got bonus funds for surpassing our targets. During the Covid-19 period, I contradicted many CMs claiming to have faced step-motherly treatment. Even then I said we have sufficient quantity of vaccines. However, on the other hand, we also did not get our GST dues or our rice quota either.
There is a perception that you and Baghel have different stands on the prime minister.
I don’t think so. I haven’t seen the chief minister — I won’t use the word abuse — say something that is against the dignity of the PM’s chair. There are times when Baghel has said positive things about the prime minister as well. I think it was in 2022 when PM’s mother had passed away and Baghel was given an appointment. The CM’s office got in touch with the PMO, saying under the circumstances, they are open for another date. It was conveyed back to them that the prime minister will be there at the scheduled date and time. Baghel went on record to say that very few people under the circumstances would be able to continue doing work. Should that be taken out of context and be construed as praise for the prime minister?
There are reports that you apologised to Mallikarjun Kharge during the extended CWC for your remarks on PM Modi. Is it true?
Kharge started by saying nothing, not even a word, should leave the room. Assuming that everyone in the meeting would adhere to his direction and nobody has said anything about the meeting, whatever is being talked about is in the sphere of conjecture or speculation.
Raman Singh, when asked why he is not the CM face of BJP, countered saying neither is Bhupesh Baghel. Do you think you can become the CM face?
We had a meeting on June 28 at 24, Akbar Road, with the central leadership, including Rahul Gandhi ji, Kharge ji, KC Venugopal ji, and Kumari Selja ji among others. In that meeting, it was decided we will fight this election in a joint leadership, with Bhupesh Baghel leading the team. That is the direction we have got till date. The chief ministerial face or the CM after the election is always decided by the central leadership. They seek the advice of the elected members and take the final call.
We have seen over time that elections were fought with a CM face who lost but was eventually made the chief minister through a by-election. We had Arjun Singh. We had won the election and two days later, we had another chief minister after his swearing-in. Various scenarios play their part. But today, we have Bhupesh Baghel leading Team Chhattisgarh and due to the work done so far, we hope and expect to win.
Do you see yourself as the next chief minister?
Only the high command can see (who the next) chief minister is. We are workers of the party. When given a job, we do our best.