Narendra Modi is more of a Gujarat PM and has adopted anti-Punjab policies, says Akali Dals Bikram Majithia

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is going through a difficult time facing electoral drubbing since 2017, how do you plan to bounce back?

If you talk about the number of seats, then yes, but it's not just us, all the major parties, the largest party in the country, the BJP, has also gone through a tougher time. Their vote share is around 6.6% in Punjab. The Congress vote has fallen to around 22% (in 2022 Assembly polls) and yes, we have also gone backwards. But that was because the Aam Aadmi Party had promised change and people wanted to experience that change. But now people feel like they've burned their hands. The state debt has increased, people's lives have not changed, and the promises made by the AAP have not been kept. There is distress in the farming community, as well as among farm workers, employees and businessmen. Total anarchy reigns in Punjab. So people are taking a U-turn and I am confident that this time the peasants, farmers and farm laborers will come back to Akali Dal.

SAD parted ways with BJP on the issue of farm laws, later these farm laws were repealed, so what is the problem in joining hands with BJP now?

The farmers' problems have not been resolved at all. Farmer suicides are only increasing. The Indian government promised to meet farmers' demands when it repealed the farm laws, but it has yet to deliver. There is a lot of animosity and anger against the BJP for the way it tried to crush dissent during the farm law agitation. The promise to provide minimum support price (MSP) for crops as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission has not been fulfilled. You can give a Bharat Ratna to Mr. MS Swaminathan but you are throwing his recommendations in the dustbin, this shows your attitude towards farmers and farm workers. Money worth millions of rupees has been taken away from the industry, but not from farmers and farm workers. If their loans are canceled, the suicides will stop. Ten years of BJP rule have brought us nothing but inflation. Narendra Modi is rather a Prime Minister of Gujarat, his policy is based on the promotion of Gujarat then the states which give him more deputies. For example, bilateral trade via the Attari-Wagah land route, along the international border between India and Pakistan, has come to a halt, causing a setback for many people, including porters, traders, agents customs and truckers, among others, which ultimately affected businesses in Punjab. However, trade is done with Pakistan and Afghanistan through sea routes passing through ports, with Gujarat being the largest beneficiary. They earn money and get jobs, but Punjab suffers. Today, Dubai has become a hub of commerce. If trade resumes from Amritsar via the Attari-Wagah land border, there would be an economic boom and job creation. Amritsar's thriving trade has come to an end due to the BJP's anti-Punjab policies, which are harming the border state.

SAD boss and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has always maintained that the SAD-BJP alliance is not political, but a guarantee of communal harmony. In this context, is there a possibility that the SAD-BJP will come together after the elections?

No, there is no possibility and I am very clear. First, Punjab’s problems need to be resolved. This alliance that Badal Saab talked about was the alliance of Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Badal Saab. Mr. Vajpayee earned a lot of love and respect as he was a very tolerant leader. Currently, this level of tolerance does not exist. Sabka Saath. Sabka Vikas is only lip service and on paper she is not in action. Minorities in India face persecution. They are targeted. Interference in religious affairs was the story of Congress. This is what the late Prime Minister Indra Gandhi did. Today, the current BJP regime is doing the same thing in the affairs of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), attempting to take control by force through government means. Through favors, strength and financial power, all this does not go well. There is also the issue of Bandi Singh (Sikh prisoners). Who are the Bandi Singhs? You have to understand one thing: these are people who stood up against atrocities. They have been languishing in prisons for 20 to 30 years. What rule in the world says that you can keep someone in prison for 28 to 30 years without releasing them, this is a violation of human rights. All these problems have piled up and we Punjabis feel like we are being singled out, alienated and neglected as a border state.

Among the Congress, AAP and BJP, which one do you think poses a bigger challenge in the polls?

Each seat is placed very differently. I don't see the AAP as much of a challenge because they have seriously lost ground. They only hope to rely on the fact that they are in government and they can intimidate people or incite them, but they have nothing to offer in the way of governance. The state is heading towards bankruptcy. Employees do not receive their salaries on time. But there is a tactical understanding between the Congress and the AAP. They are together as INDIA bloc partners. They are trying to deceive people in Punjab by showing that they are against each other, but the seats were allocated by a tactical agreement and people are aware of it. Meanwhile, the BJP has nothing to offer. He has only renegades and no ideology. People are not stupid, they can see through this.

What do you think about the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged money laundering case linked to excise politics?

Mr. Kejriwal has been widely exposed. He talked about the passing of legislation regarding corruption, the Lokpal Bill, what happened? It fell flat. He used to call Congress corrupt then, but now he is hugging Congress. It is the first party in the history of India to be created and charged in 75 years. He used to demand others resign over allegations but now he is behind bars and yet he says I am not guilty, the rules can't be different. A person who has been vocal about women's safety and security has remained silent on the alleged attack on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the Delhi Chief Minister's residence by her aide.

The drug menace continues to plague Punjab. The AAP, when it was in opposition, targeted you because of drug trafficking. What do you think about the drug problem in the state?

As far as I am concerned, this matter was well settled when in 2018, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal issued an apology for leveling unfounded allegations against me related to my involvement in drug trafficking. So it was a question of politics. But what is the situation now? Today, the availability of medicines is easier and higher if one goes to the villages. Why is Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not addressing the issue now? He used to hold governments of the time accountable, so I guess he's responsible now, he's also the Interior Minister. The fact is that they (AAP) are just playing politics on this issue. The problem is there, but the government in power is not tackling it. And the problem is not only in Punjab, and even in Gujarat, where large consignments of drugs have arrived by sea. But here, only vote bank politics was at stake.