Perpetual dissenter, Anil Vij at it again

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana virtually had a free run during its 10-year rule due to absence of an effective Opposition. So, when former Congress leader Chitra Sarwara recently said that there was no need for an Opposition in the BJP ruled Haryana till the time cabinet minister, Anil Vij was in the party, she wasn’t off the mark.

The outspoken BJP veteran known for his frequent run-ins with the chief ministers has taken the centre-stage yet again. If it was Manohar Lal Khattar with whom the veteran leader was at loggerheads during BJP’s previous two tenures, it is his successor Nayab Singh Saini who is now in the line of his fire.

In a span of three days, the minister has targeted Saini thrice – for remaining airborne most of the time, by saying that ministers and MLAs were not being heard by the government and insinuating that the chief minister tried plotting his defeat in the 2024 assembly polls. Saini on Tuesday downplayed his remarks saying Vij is a senior leader and there was no “naraazagi” between them.

Soon after 2024 polls, Vij had also pointed out that a conspiracy was hatched to kill him, an issue which was flagged by the Congress MLAs during the winter session of the state assembly in November 2024, prompting Congress leader, Bhupinder Hooda to suggest that Vij should again be allocated the portfolio of home department.

Ignored time and again for the chief minister’s chair

A minister occupying the number two slot in the order of precedence for the Council of Ministers, Vij is known as a perpetual dissenter. But then his non-conformist approach has worked well for his politics. The fact that he has been elected as a lawmaker on seven occasions from Ambala Cantonment stood testimony to his mass appeal.

“Vij sahib was a lone crusader for the BJP when the party was a non-entity in the state. People like Manohar Lal Khattar and his protégé, Nayab Singh Saini were not even on the political scene of the state during that period. The party has done injustice to him by twice ignoring him for the chief minister’s chair. If anyone deserved it at all, it was this man,” said a BJP functionary requesting anonymity.

Another party functionary said that Vij (besides Khattar and Banwari Lal in 2019) and Mool Chand Sharma in 2024 assembly polls was the only sitting minister who could successfully tide over anti-incumbency twice to win his seat. “Most of the BJP ministers lost elections in 2019 and 2024 but Vij came out a winner on both occasions. Is this not a measure of his popularity? I would say he has not been treated fairly by the party,” he said.

Reason behind the fresh outbursts

While the trigger point of Vij’s recent outbursts seems to be in what he says as “non-compliance” of his orders given during grievance committee meetings, party sources say that he is fundamentally opposed to the “centralisation of powers” in the hands of the chief minister.

“It started with pinpricks. While many ministers don’t mind making repeated pleas to the chief minister, Vij being the senior most minister feels his orders should be implemented without ifs and buts. For example, he wanted that the functioning of regional transport authorities (RTAs) should be streamlined and police officers should be removed as RTAs. This has not happened,” said an official.

A former BJP MLA said that there is method in his madness. “He ticks off officials publicly and orders disciplinary action against them. People in the government system don’t like his spectacular actions. But people love it. And that’s where he scores,” the former legislator said.

BJP in charge for Haryana, Satish Poonia on Tuesday met Vij and asked him to maintain calm. And when someone asked Vij after the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday whether all is well, the minister replied: “All will be well.”