HC verdict a wake-up call for Cong govt, says Sunil Jakhar

Nine months before Punjab goes to assembly polls early next year, the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government finds itself in a corner over the emotive sacrilege issue following the Punjab and Haryana high court order, quashing the special investigation team (SIT) report in the 2015 Kotkapura firing case. The legal setback has not only lent artillery to the opposition in its concerted campaign to amplify anti-incumbency ire, it has fired up the Congress detractors. Upping the ante, former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa have resurrected their shrill anti-Amarinder tirade, signalling that all is not well in the ruling party. At the helm of state Congress for last four years, Sunil Jakhar, 67, is acutely conscious of the growing anxieties in the party rank and file in an election year. He was at his candid best during an in-person interview on Friday during which he spoke about the political fallout of the high court verdict, blame-game within the state Congress, the role of political strategist Prashant Kishor, and impact of farmers’ agitation on the state assembly polls. Excerpts:

With nine months to go for the state polls, how do you rate the performance of the Amarinder government?

Given the challenges that it faced, the government has done fairly well. We have achieved a lot in spite of all the impediments — be it the financial crunch, pandemic and economic meltdown. The government waived off loans of 5-lakh farmers and expanded the Ayushman Bharat health scheme to cover 46-lakh families, which is our biggest achievement. There is also the transformation in school education, enhancement of money under the Shagun Scheme and establishment of the rule of law. People had huge expectations from the CM and he has been up to it. A lot more needs to be done, though.

Your government is on the back foot on the emotive issue of sacrilege cases. Sidhu and Bajwa are repeatedly harping after the HC quashed the SIT report. How serious a setback is this?

The HC verdict has come as a jolt. Nobody expected it. We are on a weak wicket and it is a wake-up call. We were all very smug that investigation is going on well and all the culprits will be brought to book. People are not interested in complexities of jurisprudence. They want action. It is a setback, but has given us time and opportunity to plug the loopholes and shortcomings in investigation. If this judgment had come two months later, I am not sure what we could have done. We had picked up (then IG) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, one of the best officers for this probe. As per his statement, the CM gave him a free hand, placing his complete faith in SIT. I am absolutely clear we have to bring the culprits to book and failure to ensure that is not an option.

What went wrong?

I think, too many cooks spoiled the broth. Secondly, it was a fait accompli. After Justice Ranjit Singh commission’s report, everything was clear. He had done a thorough job and all that was needed was to tie these knots, not just join the dots. Captain saab had left it to professionals, but political supervision was important because the buck stops at our doorsteps. It was as much the party’s responsibility as that of the government.

Congress leaders and Kunwar Vijay are all faulting the legal team, claiming that they didn’t defend it properly and that this was flagged to the CM.

I would not get into technicalities, but there are glaring things like double FIRs. The high court normally does not intervene after the challans have been submitted and this is something unprecedented. But then filing of two FIRs is also unprecedented. This was known all along. We are answerable for being complacent. These people you named complained about everything else, but no one raised this issue. If Sidhu felt something was amiss, he met CM twice and would have definitely raised it there. But everyone believed that Kunwar Vijay was doing the right job. Overconfidence and not having political supervision has put us in a spot. Punjabis are seeking vengeance. Heads will roll. It is for us to see whether heads are of the culprits or ours. Somebody will have to pay the price. For us, it is a wake-up call.

Time is running out.

Yes, time is of the essence. We are waiting for the copy of the court order. I have spoken to party MLAs, ministers and leaders. We will meet the CM immediately on it.

Are you for a fresh SIT or challenging the verdict in the Supreme Court?

I am not bothered about it. I want the results. We have to book the culprits by any means.

Drugs are another issue where your party leaders are saying that drug mafia is very active and has not been finished.

The government has achieved success in breaking the backbone of drug cartels and the supply line has been cut. But they keep trying alternative routes. The US is also facing this problem. As long as there is addiction, drugs will find their way. Administration had done its bit and achieved success, but people are not satisfied. People will not be satisfied till the ‘magarmach’ (crocodile) is brought to book even if half of Punjab is put in jail under the NDPS Act.

Why you could not do this?

It was the connivance of the central government. They were allies. They were being protected. ED keeps conducting raids all over India, but they conveniently forgot this (drug issue). I believe this is their (Centre’s) secret weapon and will be the last resort of the BJP to seek some semblance of credibility in Punjab. They bring it at the last moment.

Your government is also drawing flak, even from Congress leaders, for failing to rein in sand, liquor and transport mafia.

I would give more credence to what people say. The existence of some of our leaders depends upon these things. The easiest way is to criticise your own government. People expected more from the government which should have handled these things with a firm hand.

Sidhu is getting increasingly belligerent and has now publicly taken on CM Amarinder Singh. How does it reflect on the discipline in the party?

There is a ‘Lakshman rekha’. He is a MLA but enjoys a very privileged status. He deals directly with the high command. He has earned himself repute among the people and within the higher echelons of the party. It is incumbent on him to sort out these issues at the appropriate level.

What role do you see for Sidhu in the party or the government?

(AlCC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Harish) Rawat had said that his role will be decided between the high command, Capt and him. These (Sidhu’s) allegations are only trying to amplify what the opposition is saying. If I try to say now that not Sunil Jakhar, but ABC, AG or IG has done it, I cannot wash my hands off. There is collective responsibility. Where was I all these four-and-a-half years?

Another perennial grouse of party MLAs and leaders is that bureaucracy is calling the shots. Has that perception changed?

What happened in sacrilege case is a result of too much control to bureaucracy. It needed political supervision. I think, the CM was too lenient and generous and some of them exploited it.

Were you consulted before poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s appointment?

Every government appointment in the CM’s office is not discussed with me. His appointment must have been cleared with the AICC. The CM has so many advisers and Kishor is another adviser attached with him.

What role do you see for him?

I have not seen anyone with more sharp political acumen than Capt saab. The CM must be having his reasons. He has worked with Kishor earlier. He has been delivering consistently. And, nothing succeeds like success. As for his role, the polls have changed in the country and technical expertise has to be brought in because it is no longer man-to-man, door-to-door. Most of electioneering is now done on social media.

The organisational revamp of Punjab Congress is in limbo for more than a year. What is holding it up?

We submitted the list last year, but things got mixed up and it got lost due to the pandemic and some other issues. There are vacancies and we need to fill these. It is high time a decision is taken. I am confident that the high command is finished with the elections in Kerala and Assam and will constitute it.

You said that Amarinder will be the party’s chief ministerial face in 2022 but seem to be now walking back this statement.

I said that he will lead us in the state polls and the slogan was Capt for 2022. He is the captain. Who will become the CM is to be decided after the polls. For that, you have to get a majority. He has won election after election since 2017. You don’t change a winning horse.

Political parties are being kept at arm’s length by farmers. Is there a disconnect between the political class and farmers’ stir?

It is a people’s movement, but the farmers know that this agitation would not have come to this position had there been another CM and a non-Congress government in Punjab. It is a kranti (revolution) now and hats off to them for keeping it going so well.

Will it have a bearing on Punjab elections?

The BJP and the SAD will be at the receiving end. The BJP is trying to provoke a confrontation and discredit the agitation. Akalis cannot wash their hands off because they were advocating these laws for three months. They will also pay a price. (Parkash Singh) Badal was a farmer and worked in the fields, but Sukhbir (Badal) is a blue-blooded corporate guy.

Who will gain politically from this agitation?

This is yet to be seen. It will on whether farmer bodies will put up their own candidates or join hands with somebody. There are a lot of permutations and combinations. Also, the BJP will try to muddy the waters by communal polarisation which is the last thing Punjab needs.