In a fierce attack on the Congress, BJP’s National Media Wing head and candidate of the Garhwal Lok Sabha seat Anil Baluni has reignited a 2017 controversy. In 2017, Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit had called Late Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat “sadak ka gunda (goon on the street)”. Baluni has hit out at the Congress, calling it an “insult” to not just Garhwal, where General Rawat belonged, but every resident of Uttarakhand.
India’s first Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat died in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris district, at a hilly area between Coimbatore and Sulur on December 8, 2021.
Baluni, in an interview with News18, questioned the silence of the Gandhis as well as the indifference of Congress leadership from the state over Dikshit’s remarks on Late General Rawat. “Why weren’t there any resignations,” he asked. Baluni claimed he hasn’t centred his campaign around it but “some questions” will be asked, to the discomfiture of the Congress.
He also questioned Congress’s refusal to attend the grand opening of Ram Mandir on a day, when Congress lost another of its leaders, Gourav Vallabh, who quit the party citing this as one of the reasons.
While Baluni promised to break the 2019 record of 68% vote share of BJP from the seat and winning 5 lakh votes, he sounded confident of beating his opponents “just the way he beat cancer”. “We are fighters”, he quipped.
Here’s an excerpt from the interview with Anil Baluni:
Q: What’s the ‘mahaul’ (atmosphere) of Uttarakhand, particularly Garhwal?
Anil Baluni: In my entire life so far, I haven’t witnessed an election where common people have taken it in their hands to run a campaign. Whenever they spot a BJP flag, they say, ‘Abki baar, 400 paar’. Wherever I go, they chant, ‘Modi hai to Mumkin hai’. The public is fighting this election. It looks like we may trespass the ‘400 paar’ target.
Q: I have seen how you went to General Bipin Rawat’s house, you visited the village of Gen Anil Chauhan (current CDS). Are you trying to give a message here?
Anil Baluni: Look, this is not about messaging. I told you, I haven’t come here (Gawana Village, the ancestral village of Gen Chauhan) to seek votes. I have come here only to bow my head in front of Gen Chauhan’s house. A person hailing from such a small and remote village becomes India’s CDS! This is a land of the braves. You know the rich history of Garhwal Rifles. I went to Gen Rawat’s house to pay respect and to realize that a man coming from such a village becomes a persona that made China and Pakistan shiver in fear is surreal. These are ‘teerth sthal’ (places of worship) for us.
Q: I have spotted people talking about the way sections of Congress treated General Rawat. Is it slowly turning into an electoral issue?
Anil Baluni: This is not a matter of electoral issue. But when the election is here, people are bound to ask questions because people can’t spot Congressmen otherwise. Such a braveheart of the country is dubbed as ‘Gali ka Goonda’ by Congress’s top leadership. But no Uttarakhand Congress leaders, including the current five candidates, told Rahul and Sonia ji that they don’t agree with his views. None of them had the guts to tell their top readership that they disagreed with Congress questioning the surgical strike and belittling his stature. No one resigned in protest, no one protested, no one apologised. That’s why this issue is being discussed.
Q: Even here in Gen Anil Chauhan’s village, such murmurs can be heard. So will it be fair to say your campaigning is resonating with them?
Anil Baluni: Look, I want to point again that this is not campaigning. This is a matter that is related to the bravehearts of Uttarakhand, related to the land of Garhwal. Look, I am also questioning them on their defiance on not attending Ram Mandir’s inauguration despite our invitation to Sonia and Rahul Gandhi. They had actually questioned the existence of Lord Ram. So won’t we ask questions?
Q: You are talking about Lord Ram. We have seen how this issue split the Congress in Himachal Pradesh.
Anil Baluni: But tell me why no Congress leaders express similar objections to mistreatment with Gen Rawat? Why no Congressman from this state reminded their leadership that they are insulting a son of the soil? Why even after so many years having passed, no one from the Congress leadership has so far apologised?
Q: Would you want Rahul Gandhi or Sonia Gandhi to apologise today?
Anil Baluni: One should have done that a long long time ago. But if they feel sorry from the bottom of their heart, they should. “We have disrespected such a brave soldier and we are sorry,” that is all they have to do. What’s the big deal about it?
Q: Do you think this incident has indeed hurt the sentiments of Uttarakhand?
Anil Baluni: Tell me one society that wouldn’t be hurt when such a man (Gen Rawat) is attacked. Are we a dead society that we wouldn’t be hurt? The people of this mountain are known for their bravery. We have sacrificed lives for the nation. If their CDS is abused, they are bound to get agitated.
Q: Shifting focus, tell me why have you been constantly saying in all your addresses that you want to run a positive campaign. What do you mean by that?
Anil Baluni: I don’t want to get into mean politics. That is all I meant. Having said that, the issues of Gen Rawat and Congress’s stance on Ram Mandir will continue to be questioned.
Q: I didn’t want to ask this personal question. But since you have talked about your battle with cancer publicly, do you think this electoral battle will be an easy one in comparison?
Anil Baluni: We are Garhwalis and Garhwalis are fighters. We know how to fight every battle — be it illness or other issues. We will fight and win. We will fight the issues of mass desertions, and poverty of Uttarakhand and win.
Q: Last time BJP had a vote share of 68% in Garhwal. That’s no mean feat. What about this time?
Anil Baluni: We have kept a target of ‘5 lakh par’ this time. In fact, we want to get 5 lakh votes each in all five Lok Sabha seats of the Uttarakhand and want to gift 25 lakh votes to Modi ji. This is a resolution and we will fulfil it.
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