Dehradun: Uttarakhand Congress chief Pritam Singh, in an exclusive interview with TOI correspondent Kautilya Singh, says the saffron party hasn’t worked for the development of the nation in the last five years and is now banking on PM Modi to secure victory in the upcoming polls. Here are excerpts of his interview:Q: You are pitted against Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah, whose family has represented Tehri for 11 terms. How do you see this fight?Not only in Tehri, but in all the Lok Sabha constituencies, BJP nominees have no development works to present before people. They have been non-performers in last five years. I do not believe in personal attacks, but I will say that BJP nominees are banking only on Narendra Modi to win this election for them. They are appealing people to vote for the PM’s rather than the candidates. BJP needs to field Modi on all 543 LS seats to win.What’s the use of having a Member of Parliament, when he or she cannot tell people about the development works carried out by them? The BJP candidates are promoting pseudo-nationalism and people who question them are being labeled as anti-nationals. Who are they to issue certificate on nationalism? I am a five-time MLA and am reaching out to people with the works done under my tenure. My focus is on development, better infrastructure, better health and educational facilities.With senior Cong leaders contesting, who will look after poll campaign?It is good that prominent faces and seniors have been given ticket. It increases our chances of a win. Party leaders like Harish Rawat and Pradeep Tamta are capable of winning the election solely on basis of their personal appeal and charm. The party stands firm with them. We have a battery of star campaigners as well. Manish (Khanduri) is new but it has not taken him long to win confidence of people.Why will people vote for Congress after a dismal performance in 2017 state polls?We have fulfilled our commitments made to farmers in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Does any BJP MP have even a single line to say about their performance? All our candidates are better than their BJP counterparts. It is now up to the people to take a call. They need to look into the commitment made by the BJP in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Have people got 15 lakh in their account, have black money stashed in foreign banks been brought back, were two crore jobs generated every year? On the other side, it took us less than 10 days to fulfill our promise made to farmers in the three states we won. We believe in performance and not fake promises.How do you see Congress’ chances?We have the perfect blend of youth and experience. Harish Rawat, Pradeep Tamta, Ambrish Kumar and I have spent last few decades in political scenario and have good experience. Manish Khanduri is a highly educated and talented youth for which the people of the Himalayan state were looking for. Manish has got an overwhelming response and it was evident with the massive turnout during his nomination process on Monday. Therefore, I am confident of a clean sweep like that of 2009.BJP has often targeted Congress over the issue of corruption?BJP must tell people as to who removed the CBI chief at 2 am? Why did four Supreme Court judges had to hold a press conference? Why defaulters are getting an easy exit from the country? Where are Rafale documents, were they stolen or not?On the state level, the Trivendra Singh Rawat government must tell people as to why the probe in the NH-74 scam has not begun till now? Why a Lokayukta has not been appointed in the state even after a poll promise by the BJP?The list is endless and BJP cannot escape these issues.Internal bickering has been a major issue in the past. How’s the situation this time?In a democratic setup, it is healthy that people to come up with different opinions. Whenever a list is announced, there is some dissent but this time there has been no such thing. During the nomination process, all our seniors stood together and that is a proof of our unity.

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