Churu MP Rahul Kaswan Aims to Break the barriers of underdevelopment in Northern Rajasthan
As the sitting MP of Churu and a 2024 Lok Sabha candidate from INC, Rahul Kaswan has made the underdevelopment gripping Northern Rajasthan a centerpiece of his campaign. In a wide-ranging interview, Kaswan outlined his vision to tackle the region's challenges.
#LokSabhaElections #Elections #Churu
As the sitting MP of Churu and a 2024 Lok Sabha candidate from INC, Rahul Kaswan has made the underdevelopment gripping Northern Rajasthan a centerpiece of his campaign. In a wide-ranging interview, Kaswan outlined his vision to tackle the region's challenges.
#LokSabhaElections #Elections #Churu
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 [END PLAYBACK]
00:05 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:06 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:21 It's the 48th year we are into politics.
00:23 My grandfather started in 1977.
00:25 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:27 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
00:38 In early 1991, before that, my father
00:43 used to contest MLA elections only.
00:46 Father, grandfather, mother, everybody.
00:49 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:16 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:23 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
01:40 And that became the core of the further local politics here.
01:45 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:00 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:06 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:14 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:22 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:32 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
02:51 We have got some 20,000 crores of worth of work
02:54 in our country in the last 10 years.
02:56 And we have done a tremendous job
02:58 in highways, railways, sports, education, everything.
03:02 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:06 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:30 That's why I had to--
03:32 I was denied the ticket.
03:34 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:35 I had to join Congress.
03:37 And now I'm a candidate of Congress
03:40 now and contesting this election.
03:42 So the main issue in the constituency
03:44 is right now about the arrogance of one person.
03:47 How do you justify this thing?
03:50 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:53 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:56 [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
03:59 Tomorrow, you'd have to get a candidate from Karnataka.
04:02 He won't know the air or the water.
04:06 He won't be able to understand your needs.
04:09 To sit in Delhi, you'd have to get a ticket.
04:12 If you don't want a ticket, then why sit in Delhi?
04:15 We'll manage the tickets.
04:17 Somehow, we'll manage.
04:19 We'll work and go on living in Delhi.
04:22 The election is an eye-opener.
04:24 It's the model election of the state.
04:28 What will the public give us?
04:32 We are 25 members of parliament.
04:35 How many of us have won twice in Rajasthan?
04:39 We have a political background.
04:41 We are not a developed society.
04:45 The country's Prime Minister has said that
04:48 development will be developed by 1947.
04:51 He has given a vision.
04:52 There is no guarantee.
04:54 In this journey till 1947, you need a person
04:58 who can be your voice, understand your problems,
05:02 and resolve them.
05:05 Breaking the code is a big issue for the public.
05:11 I raised my voice against the system.
05:14 I went to the public.
05:16 I have received a lot of blessings.
05:18 When we were travelling, we saw that
05:22 Churu has a large population in the primary sector.
05:25 We saw a farmer movement in 2020.
05:29 It is still going on.
05:31 What do you think about this?
05:33 A farmer movement started in 2020.
05:35 It is still going on.
05:37 As such, in my constituency,
05:40 we have led the farmer movement.
05:45 If a government scheme comes up,
05:48 we have the most beneficiaries in Churu.
05:51 The top insurance scheme will come up.
05:54 It is weather-based.
05:56 We are the top claim disbursement in Rajasthan.
06:01 In the last seven years,
06:03 we have launched this scheme.
06:06 In the last seven years,
06:08 we have received a direct benefit of Rs. 7800 crores
06:11 in the accounts of farmers.
06:13 Because in the heat and winters,
06:15 it is very cold.
06:17 Now we are number one in Rajasthan.
06:20 We are number three in India.
06:22 The farmer says that he was running for us.
06:26 Why was he stopped?
06:28 Now, there is a big issue of MSP at the national level.
06:32 There is a scarcity of water.
06:34 We don't have irrigation water.
06:36 We have been working for a project approval.
06:39 We had done a lot of work on it.
06:42 Yamuna Link water.
06:44 It is not Shikhawati canal.
06:46 It is Yamuna Link.
06:47 Because the water is for Shikhawati belt,
06:50 that's why people call it Shikhawati canal.
06:52 But primarily, it is Yamuna Link,
06:55 which has water disbursement for irrigation
06:59 for 40,000 hectares in Churu,
07:01 60,000 hectares in Jhunjhunu,
07:04 and drinking water for Sikar district.
07:07 That was the plan in 1990s,
07:09 which has not been executed yet.
07:11 BJP wants to sell it with this mindset
07:16 that we will bring irrigation water in Churu.
07:19 But where will you bring it?
07:21 There is 13.5 lakh hectares of land in Churu.
07:24 You have water availability for 40,000 hectares.
07:27 So, tell me, what is 40,000?
07:29 I know. You tell me.
07:31 So, the public, our Chief Minister,
07:34 we executed it.
07:35 The Chief Minister doesn't even know about the project.
07:39 It is the first project in the country
07:41 which is coming where the canal system is not open canal.
07:45 It is a pipeline based system.
07:47 One pipe is of 3.3 meters.
07:49 Five such pipes will come from the ground
07:52 which will not require land.
07:54 And the dam which is not made in the mountains,
07:58 but water will come from Tejawala head,
08:00 its dam will be made in Churu,
08:02 in Rajgarh tehsil, where we are sitting.
08:05 So, it is a completely different project.
08:07 It fills the viability gap.
08:11 If you have to give water in Rabi crop,
08:13 if it doesn't rain in Rabi crop,
08:15 then the water to fill that gap is available.
08:18 It is not that 24 hours water is available for you.
08:21 So, no one reads it, but it is okay.
08:24 There is no knowledge.
08:25 Say something to the public during the election time.
08:27 Everything works.
08:28 So, I challenge that too.
08:30 Because we will say what we can.
08:32 I have not made my agenda for the election.
08:34 Because interstate water disputes
08:36 run for years.
08:38 It has been 30-33 years.
08:40 There are cases in our tribunals.
08:43 If I claim in an election today,
08:45 and if it is not completed tomorrow,
08:47 then what will you show to the public?
08:50 So, to vote, I never cross my line.
08:53 My existence is clear.
08:54 And my family's existence is clear too.
08:56 Sir, your family has been from Bhajpa.
08:58 Then you are from Bhajpa.
09:00 Now, you are in Congress.
09:02 One is your family and your vote bank.
09:05 Apart from this,
09:06 there will be a vote bank in the name of Bhajpa.
09:09 Do you think you will be able to transfer that vote bank in this election?
09:12 We will do it to a great extent.
09:14 And anyway, a vote bank is also a part of Congress.
09:16 So, vote bank is a base.
09:19 Sir, look, the media thing we are making,
09:23 we are setting a narrative in society.
09:28 At the end of the day,
09:30 why are these posts there?
09:32 For the people.
09:35 We are here as a developer.
09:37 We are here to do some development job as a member of parliament,
09:40 as an MLA, as a Sarpanch, as a district commissioner.
09:43 Everybody has his job profile.
09:45 At the end of the day,
09:46 the man has to deal with the public at large.
09:49 The guy who is being elected,
09:51 he has to deal with the public day to day basis.
09:53 So, we bring these big thought processes.
09:57 What was their ideology?
09:59 What is their ideology?
10:00 There is no ideology.
10:01 Sir, the ideology is only one, development.
10:03 Schools should get electricity,
10:05 villages should get electricity, roads should get water,
10:07 children should get good computer education,
10:09 children should get good platforms.
10:11 Our job is to create platforms through infrastructure,
10:17 from where the society can rise themselves.
10:21 How many children are studying in Delhi University?
10:24 How many children are going to Rajasthan?
10:27 Why? Because they got an opportunity for education.
10:30 If 4 or 5 boys in every school get 90% of the votes,
10:35 Churu will give you 2000-1000 children.
10:38 Are you getting me?
10:41 So, we have to understand this concept.
10:44 These things happen when societies mature,
10:47 when development is already there.
10:49 Then we start talking.
10:51 If you are hungry, you will eat 2-4 meals.
10:54 What are we putting in?
10:58 Which BJP candidate did Mahajanbhai replace me with?
11:02 He didn't even join the BJP, he was a government officer.
11:06 He was a Paralympian, he won a medal,
11:09 he got a government job, you gave him a chance.
11:12 He resigned after the announcement of the ticket.
11:15 He was not a party worker.
11:17 So, you are selling your thoughts,
11:19 because the media is in your control.
11:21 You cannot sell your thoughts.
11:23 The truth is that you need people who are in the field,
11:26 who are working.
11:28 The government has passed a law,
11:31 that it has to be made twice.
11:34 Make a law twice, finish it.
11:37 Which 100 MPs will get the ticket?
11:42 There is no AI.
11:44 It is a human being's decision.
11:47 I challenge them for this,
11:49 because we are working in the field.
11:51 Sir, you become an MP,
11:54 and if you win the election,
11:57 what will be your first step?
12:00 I try to answer such questions.
12:05 I think these questions are to create hype.
12:10 What is this work?
12:13 I am a home minister.
12:19 I can become the Prime Minister tomorrow.
12:22 What should I do?
12:24 Will I be able to do it?
12:26 I am talking about your first job.
12:28 What should I do?
12:30 I have been working in this field for the past 5 days.
12:33 No other minister has talked to me like you.
12:38 So, if you try to solve the water issue,
12:43 at least take a step,
12:45 that would be better.
12:47 The media that comes here,
12:52 they don't do their homework.
12:56 How do we defend water?
12:58 A) Drinking B) Irrigation
13:01 Am I right?
13:03 Where do we have irrigation water?
13:05 There are agreements of Haryana-Punjab in the 1980s.
13:09 I have two agreements.
13:11 Indira Gandhi Kanak Agreement,
13:13 where the Rajasthan government had to get 8.67 MAF water,
13:18 1 million acre feet of water.
13:21 This agreement was executed in the 1980s.
13:24 Under that, Rajasthan got 8 MAF water,
13:28 but 0.67 MAF water was not found till date.
13:31 The case is pending in the tribunal.
13:33 Another agreement is BML's Bhakra,
13:36 which had to get 0.47 MAF water,
13:39 but 0.30 MAF water was found,
13:41 but 0.17 MAF water was not found till date.
13:43 There was a project called Sidhmukh Canal,
13:46 but the water was not found in Sidhmukh till date,
13:48 because 0.17 MAF water was not found.
13:50 Now we don't have water in the Bhakranangal Dam,
13:54 where will we get water from?
13:56 We have the same source of water,
14:00 the same belt of north,
14:02 where we collect all our rivers,
14:04 put them on the dam and get water.
14:06 Where do we get water from?
14:08 The groundwater is salty,
14:11 85% of the water is salty.
14:13 Where do we get water from?
14:15 This agreement is from the 1980s.
14:17 After that, the population changed.
14:19 The population increased by 22-23%.
14:21 You are not able to give water to that population.
14:24 This is not the issue.
14:26 Whenever we say something,
14:29 we have to say something concrete.
14:32 AI should be used in this.
14:35 We should change the usage of water.
14:38 These are big decisions,
14:42 for which the farmers and the government
14:44 have to be convinced.
14:46 If I irrigate 1000 acres of land
14:50 with flood irrigation,
14:52 I need approximately 5 pieces of water.
14:55 If I irrigate 1000 acres of land with sprinklers,
14:59 I need only 3.
15:01 And if I go with a drip,
15:03 I might need 1.5 or 2 pieces of water.
15:06 I am saving water there,
15:08 then I can distribute.
15:10 But who can discuss all this?
15:12 They have to discuss in the public domain first.
15:15 And the third is Yamuna-Link water.
15:18 This is the water.
15:20 This water is not pending,
15:22 it is saved there.
15:24 You have to bring it.
15:26 If it is so simple, no one leaves it.
15:28 It is not so simple that the water is there,
15:30 you have to bring it.
15:32 A. Drinking water.
15:34 In my constituency,
15:36 the schedule of drinking water is excellent.
15:39 From time 1990s,
15:41 we ran the AAPNI Yojana program,
15:43 which was funded by the Germans.
15:45 In that, our Talanagar and Churu,
15:48 some villages of Rajgir,
15:50 we got water.
15:52 After that, we brought 2 projects.
15:54 AAPNI Yojana Phase 2,
15:56 it was a 1200 crore scheme.
15:58 We have a source of water right now.
16:00 Whether we created a source for drinking water or not.
16:03 We have created a source.
16:05 From one project,
16:07 we have covered 3 Thessal.
16:09 And one is Bhoongi Yojana,
16:11 which covered 1 Thessal.
16:13 So in my opinion,
16:15 in Churu Thessi district,
16:17 there is no shortage of source of water.
16:19 According to the population,
16:21 we have that much available source of water
16:23 from Indira Gandhi Canal.
16:25 But now it is the job of distribution.
16:27 Yes, there is a shortage in distribution.
16:29 Jal Jeevan Mission Programme came.
16:31 In that, we have to give water to 3,08,972 households.
16:36 In that, we are facing a problem of quality of work.
16:39 This is not a large issue.
16:41 It can be a technical issue.
16:44 Now, in that also,
16:46 the government said that
16:48 we will give 90% water to the households.
16:50 This is not my programme.
16:52 This is 90%.
16:54 90% means that
16:56 we will cover the shortage of water
16:58 of 20 households.
17:00 If there is a shortage of water
17:02 of 20 households,
17:04 then we will cover it.
17:06 If there is a shortage of water
17:08 of 10 households,
17:10 then we will not give water.
17:12 This is the part of this programme.
17:14 So my district is completely covered.
17:16 I don't believe that drinking water is an issue.
17:18 Yes, there can be management issues.
17:20 There can be operations issues.
17:22 That is a different thing.
17:24 Because the government executes.
17:26 I don't execute as a member of parliament.
17:28 And irrigation water,
17:30 my issues are pending.
17:32 It is pending in the tribunal.
17:34 It is not pending on my part.
17:36 If the tribunal pending is over,
17:38 then I will move ahead.
17:40 To change the usage of water,
17:42 this centralized call will have to be taken
17:44 by the government.
17:46 Farmers will have to be convinced
17:48 with some kind of a subsidy
17:50 or some kind of a VGF.
17:52 VGF should be done
17:54 where the farmer is comfortable.
17:56 This is not a big issue.
17:58 Development is when
18:00 your government of India is formed.
18:02 The ministries you form,
18:04 every ministry has a minister.
18:06 Every ministry has a budget.
18:08 The money of that budget,
18:10 whether you are bringing it in Churu or not,
18:12 I consider it development.
18:14 (dramatic music)
18:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]