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The K R Malkani Chat

WDN Kesri: India is not teetering on the verge of chaos. Everything is normal and peaceful in India. It will make no difference to the people if one government goes and another comes. This is the normal democratic process. So long as everybody goes to work does his duty India will go on. India is like an elephant. Don't under rate the power and wisdom of India. Venkat: We already have a succesful working alliance with five parties. As we said we will also have an alliance with BSP. And don't be surprised we are also able to forge some more alliances with some regional parties which I need not name at this stage.

What is your impression of Mr Moopanar who seems a likely prime minister?

What is the NATIONAL INTEREST? Mr Malkani, to the Congress and United Front, it means the consolidation of secularism. To the BJP, it may mean appeasement to none which the Cong/UF may interpret as communalism.

BUT MR MALKANI YOU NEVER EXPLAINED WHAT BJP WILL, UNSELFISHLY, DO TO REMEDY THE SITUATION AND MAKE INDIA NOT LOSE OUT IN ANY WAY.

You have criticised coalition parties, but most politicians feel that India is in for an era of coalition politics. Do you agree?

Mr. Malkani, To quote you "Everything is normal and peaceful in India. It will make no difference to the people if one government goes and another comes." So politicians and politics have no effect on the country ? I agree, but this is not necessarily true if the politicians actually care for the country rather than advance their own means and ambitions .. You summed up the pitiful nature of our polictial process .. Your comments ..

EVERYONE: SOMEONE ASKED ME A QUESTION WHETHER THE BJP ALLIANCE WITH THE AKALI DAL IN PUNJAB WAS NOT OPPORTUNISTIC? My answer: It was not. It was if anything an ideal alliance. The object of this alliance is that Hindus and Sikhs in Punjab must live in peace an amity,. And take the state forward. It was the congress which was trying all the time to divide Hindus and Sikhs and even different sections of the Sikh society. The way they put up Mr Bhindranwale to create tension in the state and violence in the state was nothing short of criminal. Fortunately at the peoples level Hindus and Sikhs through out this period lived in peace and amity. It was the congress party and the central government which were creating mischief in the state all the time.

BUT MR MALKANI YOU NEVER EXPLAINED WHAT BJP WILL, UNSELFISHLY, DO TO REMEDY THE SITUATION AND MAKE INDIA NOT LOSE OUT IN ANY WAY.

HOW CAN YOU SAY IT WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHO COMES IN POWER. GOWDA FOR ALL HIS DEFECTS WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO HIS JOB. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT SITARAM KESRI WILL EVEN ATTEMPT TO DO THAT? HE OR HIS NOMINEE WILL BE IN THE SEAT TO PLAY MORE GAMES???

Mr. Malkani, earlier your party decried coallitions as oppurtunistic, when some people suggested that in future, coallitions would be the rule rather than an exception. Now you 'rule' 4 states as minor member of coallitions and are seeking coallition partners everywhere. Please clarify if this change of strategy is an admission that no single party can command the confidence of all sections of the people in the country today ?

The myth that the BJP is a different party will be gone once it comes to power. The only saving grace is Sri Vajpayee.Even Advani is corrupt. India needs leaders with morality and idealism. Then only will it filter down to the lower echelons of society. But at present the BJP seems to be better than ohters.

You have criticised coalition parties, but most politicians feel that India is in for an era of coalition politics. Do you agree?

Mr. Malkani, To quote you "Everything is normal and peaceful in India. It will make no difference to the people if one government goes and another comes." So politicians and politics have no effect on the country ? I agree, but this is not necessarily true if the politicians actually care for the country rather than advance their own means and ambitions .. You summed up the pitiful nature of our polictial process .. Your comment

What is the NATIONAL INTEREST? Mr Malkani, to the Congress and United Front, it means the consolidation of secularism. To the BJP, it may mean appeasement to none which the Cong/UF may interpret as communalism.

Keshav: Mr Moopanar has been in the Rajya Sabha for two years now. But he has not opened his mouth even once. He is suppose to have a clean image. however, his involvement with the affairs of the Indian Bank which showed a loss of Rs 1200 crores last year has somewhat dimmed that image. That image of cleanliness.

What is your impression of Mr Moopanar who seems a likely prime minister?

I don't think anybody who voted for Congress planned to vote in a nasty type like Sitaram K. Speaking as an ordinary citizen and not as a BJP-wallah don't you think all efforts should be made to get Rao back in the picture.

BJP or UF or Congress -- It is like choosing between the Devil and the Dead Sea, No one cares- The polictical process has to be changed and attitudes of politicians must change Money making should not be the sole goal

Sahay: National interest is the interest of the nation. The interest of all sections of the populations. What our advesaries are doing is to talk of secularism as though BJP is not secular. The only secular thing that this government has done is to organsie the record number of ifttar parties. The relaity behind this smoke screen of secularism is concession after concesssions to the MNCs. I view this government as the government of the MNCS, by the MNCs, for the MNCS.

BJP is a national party. However, with 2 seats in parliment in 1984, it has now secured maximum no of seats in the current election. I would like to know what action the party propose to take to remove the communal stigma being attached to it?

Thank you, Kewalji.Where does India go from here?

BUT MR MALKANI YOU NEVER EXPLAINED WHAT BJP WILL, UNSELFISHLY, DO TO REMEDY THE SITUATION AND MAKE INDIA NOT LOSE OUT IN ANY WAY.

HOW CAN YOU SAY IT WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHO COMES IN POWER. GOWDA FOR ALL HIS DEFECTS WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO HIS JOB. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT SITARAM KESRI WILL EVEN ATTEMPT TO DO THAT? HE OR HIS NOMINEE WILL BE IN THE SEAT TO PLAY MORE GAMES???

Oh, so from secularism, your next target is the economy. You are going to take India to the dark ages, Mr Malkani.

K Pomerian: There is no question of Mr Rao again coming into power. Even persons closest to him have abandoned him. He is the last soul. I think the best service he can do the country is to write out his memoirs. I hope that in such memoirs he speaks the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Of course such memoirs can be published posthmously.

What is your position on more power to the states and more power to village panchayats and zilla parishads ? You know that the success of Kerala in giving more power to panchayats has resulted in a high levels of social development. And the success of Jyoti Basu is attributed to his rural reforms.

Mr. Malkani, To quote you "Everything is normal and peaceful in India. It will make no difference to the people if one government goes and another comes." So politicians and politics have no effect on the country ? I agree, but this is not necessarily true if the politicians actually care for the country rather than advance their own means and ambitions .. You summed up the pitiful nature of our polictial process .. Your comment

HOW CAN YOU SAY IT WILL NOT MAKE A DIFFERENCE WHO COMES IN POWER. GOWDA FOR ALL HIS DEFECTS WAS ATTEMPTING TO DO HIS JOB. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT SITARAM KESRI WILL EVEN ATTEMPT TO DO THAT? HE OR HIS NOMINEE WILL BE IN THE SEAT TO PLAY MORE GAMES???

Mr. Malkani, For all The UF faults, some talent for governing does exists case in point Chidambaram, Gujral who actaully understand the workings of their ministries with their backgrounds Does the BJP have that kind of talent ?

Ramachandran: WE do not take a superficial view of the political scene. Even when we had only two seats in the Lok Sabha we had emerged as the 2nd party in the country. And if India had had a proportiaonal system of representation our voting percentage would have won us about 40 seats. As for this tag of communalism, we are not a dog to be given a bad name and hanged. The fact is that the party is growing all the time. And it is growing because it represents the hopes and aspirations of the Indian people. And I can tell you that according to Dr Farooq Abdullah, the Congress is the most communal party in the country. The fact is that BJP is the party of Indian nationalism. And since the bulk of the population is Hindu, this nationalism will inevitably be very much Hindu. Just as many west European countries had Christian Democratic or Christian Socialist governments. Nobody ever call them communal. Likewise, the BJP is not communal at all. It is just nationalist.

EVERYONE: When I said that when ONE PM goes and another comes, I was referring to the general run of politicians. for example, the difference between Gowda and Kesri is that between Tweedledum and Tweedledee. ASsand when we have a prime minister like Vajpayee, it will make a tremendous qualitative difference to the country and the people.

Sir : Why do politicians even presume to think that they are in the least bit relevant to anyone but themselves anymore in India?

Mr. Malkani, For all The UF faults, some talent for governing does exists case in point Chidambaram, Gujral who actaully understand the workings of their ministries with their backgrounds Does the BJP have that kind of talent ? Some examples please in different areas ..

EVERYONE: India cannot go back even if it wanted to. Nobody can go backwards. However, we don't have to follow the slogans of so-called liberalisation and globalisation. We don't have to mechanically follow what the MNCs think or do. As the party of Indian people we must see to it that India develops in all respects, that the price level is maintained, that there is full employment. This is possible only through Swadeshi. In simple terms BE INDIAN, BUY INDIAN AND BUILD INDIA. Every country whether it was UK or USA have developed their economy along Swadeshi lines. About 100 years ago the then PM of Britain wrote to then President of USA Mr Grant that Britain had resorted to free market and USA should do likewise and allow imports and exports freely. President Grant wrote back to say that for a full 100 years UK had kept its market closed and protected. And he said that USA would do likewise. We can also tell the foreign countries and MNCS that India will protect its industries untill such time it grows strong. That will be the stage for us to allow free imports and exports. Until then it is India first.

Last time when Vajpayee was PM, the only qualitative difference was to the fortunes of the many photocopy wallahs in and around North/South Block...let us take a vote:all those in favour of sending all politicians permanently to Andamans say yes on this REDIFF CHAT SHOW andlet us solve this problem once and for all since there just aren't enough lampposts to hang them from....

Venkat NY: The BJP is all for more powers to the states. WE are also for more powers to Panchayats and Zilla parishads. THe only problem is that dominiant groups come to dominate panchayats etc. One wishes that panchayats function on the basis of the consensus and near unanimity.

AYE, MOG

Mr. Malkani, For all The UF faults, some talent for governing does exists case in point Chidambaram, Gujral who actaully understand the workings of their ministries with their backgrounds Does the BJP have that kind of talent ? Some examples please in different areas ..

Watch this space : tricky questions get no replies here anymore.....ARE POLICIANS RELEVANT ANYMORE???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????? no.

Why BJP is isolated from regional parties ? Do u think that without the support of regional parties BJP can form a GOVT. at Center in future ?