My priority is prohibition; I'm making women my informers

At 72, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel still walks with a spring in her step. The former teacher-activist who had to be cajoled into politics by the BJP is known to be a no-nonsense CM, in the same mould as her mentor and idol Narendra Modi. Five months after taking over from him, she is confident of winning all the 10 seats (one LS and nine Assembly) in the September 13 by-elections. In an interview with Harit Mehta and Radha Sharma conducted in the vegetable fields of her chief ministerial bungalow, she says that Modi has left her an easy state to govern.
How did you come into politics?
It was accidental.I never thought of becoming a politician because I was busy with my job as a teacher and looking after my husband and two children as well as my husband's brother's family. In 1985-86, there was a major drought in Gujarat. I happened to join BJPs `Nyay Yatra' for four days since I wanted to experience the ground realities of a famine at close quarters. Since I was educated, Keshubhai Patel and Narendrabhai Modi gave me the opportunity to address small groups of women. Later, they tried to convince me to join politics but I refused. But Narendrabhai did not give up till I agreed. But I had conditions - I would work only on Saturdays and Sundays and would not travel. Once I joined the party, there was no looking back.
You have worked under two CMs, Keshubhai and Modi. How different were they?
Keshubhai Patel was extremely hardworking but he did not get enough time to show what he could do as CM. He was dislodged after eight months the first time. His second stint as CM was marred by natural disasters -first, the Kandla cyclone in 1998, then two years of drought and the huge earthquake in 2001. The government was busy managing one crisis after another. Narendrabhai was more policy driven and focussed on every small aspect of governance -building roads, hospitals, disaster management structure, and 24-hour power which helped take technology to the remotest rural areas.
How does it feel to step into his shoes?
Nobody can step into his shoes. Narendrabhai has institutionalized governance.Not just me, anyone the party chose for the CM's job would have had no problem running the state because of the systems put in place by Narendrabhai.Your first challenge will be the bypoll to one Lok Sabha and nine Assembly seats this month.I am confident of sweeping all ten seats. The results will be declared on September 16. The next day is Narendrabhai's birthday -1010 will be our gift to him.
The decision to raise the height of the Narmada dam must have been welcome for your government. How will Gujarat benefit?
The UPA government made us wait for eight long years. All three states -Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan -suffered due to this delay . My aim is to complete the work of building gates on the dam and the canal distribution network by 2016. There are some problems -there is, for instance, forest land coming in the way of the planned canals. A PIL has been filed in this regard in the Supreme Court. But once everything is cleared, water will reach the remotest village of Gujarat. We are involving locals in the construction of small canals that take water to their farms.
Gujarat has a skewed sex ratio - 886 girls per 1,000 boys in the 0-6 year age group. What is your strategy to amend this situation?
The skewed sex ratio in Gujarat is due to the deep-rooted preference for a boy. This is prevalent among the educated as well. Apart from barring sex determination tests, my aim is to target the youth for awareness.It doesn't help to address women over 40, college girls should be targeted. Gujarat has the most schemes for the girl child. We came out with first ever gender budget.
But Gujarat still lags behind in several social indicators.
When I took over as education minister in 1998, the task was to undo 40 years of damage done by the Congress. Teachers were trained not to come to school, and retirees had not been replaced since 1986. There was corruption everywhere. I changed all that. Kanya Shikshan was given priority and the drop-out rate was brought down to 2%. Enrolment is now 100% and the focus is now on quality .
Amit Shah has been controlling the state home department since 2002. How are the police dealing with a woman boss?
I have never ever been to a police station all my life. But as a CM, I need to under stand this crucial department better. I started calling up police stations, convened a day-long crime conference and asked police officials to speak their mind. I am asking police offi cials to maintain a diary of the towns and villages they visit.
My priority is to enforce prohibi tion. I have made women my in formers by forming mahila samitis at the district and taluka level. For their health, we have to encourage police officials to give up alcohol. If that happens, liquor dens will automatically shut.