The Chhattisgarh BJP government recently handed over the Mahadev betting app case to the CBI. What was the reason for this?

From 2018 to 2023, the Bhupesh Baghel government carried out big scams – in liquor, coal, Gobar (cow dung), Public Service Commission… even our Mahadev was not spared. After the government of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai came to power, they are investigating every wrongdoing. The case has been handed over to the CBI so that the guilty are punished.

The Opposition, particularly the Congress, has raised the demand for a caste census.

The Congress was in power for 50-60 years and did not conduct a caste census. Their slogan during Indira Gandhi’s time was ‘Na jaat par, na paat par, mohar lagegi haath par (Not on caste, nor on origins, vote will be for hand or Congress)’. Now that they have faced rejection from all corners, they are talking of caste census. The Congress has divided the country on the basis of religion once. Now, they are conspiring to divide the country in the name of caste census. Those who raise the demand for a caste census should tell which caste they belong to. Don’t we have the right to ask? (A statement by BJP leader Anurag Thakur in the last Parliament session saying ‘Those whose caste is not known are asking for a caste census’ had seen protests by the Congress.)

One of the key programs of your ministry, the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban, will complete 10 years on October 2. What has the mission achieved so far and what more is the ministry planning to improve sanitation?

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2014, we have seen a big change in sanitation. Earlier, our mothers and sisters were forced to go outside to relieve themselves, they would have to wait for nightfall. The biggest societal change has been brought by the Swachh Bharat Mission. As a result of the mission, by the time we observed Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary (in 2019), our country had become open defecation free… There are many cities that have become examples for others, like Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Ambikapur in Chhattisgarh. .

We still see garbage piling up in cities and clogged drains leading to water-logging in the monsoon, including in Delhi. What is being done to address this?

Cleanliness is not a one-day activity. Cleanliness is the prime duty and right of all citizens. The Central government is assisting state governments, but state governments also have a duty that they pay special attention to this.

When it comes to landfills, many states have done good work. There are many states like Delhi where garbage is piling up. The Arvind Kejriwal government is not doing any work on this. If we say anything, they see politics. Delhi is the capital of the country, the government should be accountable to make sure the landfills are removed. But this (the Delhi) government is implicated in corruption and is not working for the common people. For Lutyens Delhi, which comes under the Centre, the work of desilting drains has been done, but the water flows to the drains under the Delhi government. Until they clean the drains, this problem will be there.

The Central government… (has) completed 772 stormwater drainage projects under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) across cities, through which around 3,556 water-logging points have been eliminated and work is on at 350 other points. Out of 2,300 legacy landfills, 400 lakh metric tonnes of waste at 427 sites have been cleared. Since urban development is a state subject, the Center bolsters the efforts of the states.

Under PM Awas Yojana-Urban 2.0 (PMAY-U), which was announced in the Budget, the eligibility criteria for middle-income group (MIG) families has been reduced from Rs 6 lakh-Rs 18 lakh to Rs 6 lakh-Rs 9 lakh. What was the reason for this reduction?

For the first time, a Prime Minister has had the vision that the poor must have their own houses. We are a government that works to fulfill the dream of Antyodaya. We have already dedicated 4 crore homes to the public under PMAY. Now, under PMAY 2.0, we have a goal of 3 crore homes – 2 crore in rural and 1 crore in urban areas. The aim of the PMAY-U is to give houses to the urban poor. We have also targeted the middle class and the required changes have been made to the scheme in PMAY-U 2.0.

In the third term of the Narendra Modi government, we have seen decisions being taken back or put on hold, including lateral entry appointments. Why is the government making such U-turns?

This is not the case. The Modi government takes decisions with full strength… Whatever steps are necessary for the country, the Prime Minister and the NDA government will take. In the future too, big steps will be taken.