Hardeep Singh Puri on Delhi elections

Brut India

"I think even Atishi will lose her seat..." Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri spoke about BJP's plan for the Delhi elections, controlling the pollution crisis in the capital, and a lot more in this conversation with Brut.

Transcript

00:00Today, the anger against the Aam Aadmi Party is clear, it is palpable and it is anger bordering

00:07on real anger.

00:09What would be the top two priorities for a BJP government in Delhi when it comes to power?

00:15To make Delhi livable again.

00:18We have with us India's Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, author and a former diplomat,

00:26Hadeep Singh Puri.

00:27Thank you so much for speaking to Brut.

00:29I wanted to start by asking the Delhi elections, which we are going to win by the way.

00:34That was my question.

00:35But very quickly, of course, in the public domain, there have been, you know, comments

00:40exchanged between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP on the settlements of Rohingyas, right?

00:45My question to you is, Rohingyas, could they have not been stopped at the border?

00:51No, let me first of all say this is a false narrative.

00:55Okay.

00:56The Aam Aadmi Party doesn't seem to realize that there is something called an illegal

01:00infiltrator.

01:01Okay.

01:02And then there are refugees.

01:04The point about the Rohingyas is, wherever they've come from, who has encouraged them?

01:10The point is, if your MLA is shown on TV, talking to them and saying, I will give you

01:1510,000 rupees a month, I'll give you this, I'll do that.

01:17The idea is to bring, this is not only here, they're doing it everywhere.

01:21They're trying to bring in people who have no business to be here and they're utilizing

01:25those people to make them ration cards firstly and then ultimately get them a vote and then

01:30get them votes in the election.

01:31I mean to say, you know, I saw some statement, I couldn't conceal my amusement, BJP has

01:37settled them in.

01:38Do you seriously expect the Rohingya to vote for a BJP candidate?

01:41What are we discussing?

01:43I mean, and if you, if you, today I saw another tweet by Mr. Kejriwal, oh no, no, they are

01:48mistaking their, in the name of Rohingya, they are talking of Poorvanchali, he's talking

01:52nonsense.

01:54Today, the anger against the Aam Aadmi Party is clear, it is palpable and it is anger bordering

02:01on real anger because Delhi is polluted, it is mismanaged, the air pollution, the river

02:08pollution, etc.

02:09That's why these guys in the last list of 20 candidates that he announced, 13 of them

02:13were outsiders, brought in from other parties.

02:17I think they're going to be devastatingly routed in the next election and you will see

02:23a BJP government here.

02:25And on the Delhi pollution, sir, there's always a back and forth in terms of this is the centre

02:29saying this is a state issue.

02:30No, no, I haven't done it.

02:31When there was a Congress government in Punjab, it's the Congress government in Punjab which

02:34is not able to control Parali burning.

02:38Then when the Aam Aadmi Party government say, well, it's not Punjab, it's coming from X

02:41other place, Y place.

02:42Look, madam, if you are not interested in doing something, then this kind of diversionary

02:47talk will take place.

02:50I think Kejriwal's days, he's no longer the chief minister, but I think even Aatish will

02:55lose her seat.

02:56What would be the top two priorities for a BJP government in Delhi if it comes to power?

03:02To make Delhi livable again is the main priority.

03:06To make Delhi livable, it's such a beautiful city.

03:08I mean, if you look at Delhi in terms of its tradition, etc., its history, they have completely

03:14destroyed it.

03:16My own conversations with him will get me very worried.

03:19And this whole freebie culture, look, I am for freebies, make no mistake.

03:23Because if there is an economic incentive to be given, but our freebies are very different.

03:29You want to give 300 units of electricity free, what the prime minister says is, take

03:33a subsidy from me, set up a roof, solar panel on your rooftop, produce cheap electricity,

03:41use 300 units free for yourself, other you, we put up a charging station, you charge your

03:47card with it, and next we have a national grid, you put it into the grid and we'll pay

03:50you for it.

03:51That's the difference between good management.

03:53By the way, wherever there have been Congress led governments, today I saw that they were

03:56putting cess on all kinds of things in Karnataka.

04:00They wanted to tax toilets in Himachal.

04:02You see, if you don't know how to govern and if you are extravagant and you want to spend

04:08beyond your mean, then you will have to resort to all these things.

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