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The Rediff Interview/Purno Agitok Sangma

'We have started a movement which is close to the hearts of the people of India'

Former Lok Sabha speaker Purno Agitok Sangma, along with Sharad Pawar and Tariq Anwar, wrote that controversial letter which caused a furore in the Congress and forced Sonia Gandhi to resign as party president. Though the trio has been been expelled from the party, Sangma is not worried in the least.

In an exclusive interview with Onkar Singh, Sangma said many people were shocked that he had joined hands with Pawar and Tariq in writing this letter, "because we Indians do not think the tribals can be as intelligent as any one else". "The problem is, we tend to underestimate tribals," says Sangma with a broad grin.

Now that you, along with two of your colleagues, have been expelled from the Congress party, what do you plan to do?

We will be launching a new party very soon. Sharadji was supposed to come back to Delhi today (Saturday) but since he has a few engagements in Bombay, he will reach Delhi only on Sunday. After that we will sit down together and chalk out our future course of action.

How much time would it take before a new party is launched? What will you call it?

Since we are Congressmen at heart, the new party would be the Congress party and the real Congress. Let me assure you of that. We have lots of suggestions from various people about the possible name. We are keeping all of them in mind. It would take, I guess, a minimum of seven days to finalise things.

Prior to this, many new 'real Congress' parties came into being and vanished in the blue. Only the Indian National Congress has survived. Do you think your party will meet the same fate too as the others before it?

(Laughs heartily) No, no. Our party would not vanish into the blue. It would remain the real Congress party after the election. You will see yourself in the days to come. We have started a movement which is close to the hearts of the one hundred million people of India. The question before us is whether we should allow a person of foreign origin to become the prime minister of India or not. See, we Indians love our country and are self-respecting people. How can we allow someone of foreign origin to become the prime minister of India?

But Sharad Pawar, you and Tariq Anwar had no objection when she took over as the Congress president?

I am still saying she could be the Congress president but she should not aspire to the be prime minister of India. It is not right. She is an Indian citizen, that is beyond doubt. But she is not a natural Indian. When she joined active politics we thought she would rejuvenate the Congress party, and indeed she did precisely that. She should have remained contented with that.

But what's wrong in aspiring for a political post when you are in politics? Didn't you want to be prime minister when you floated the idea of forming a national government after the Gujral government fell?

Yes, so long as we are in politics we will all have aspirations. I never wanted to be the prime minister of India even when I floated the idea of forming a national government. I knew the idea would be a failure and still I went ahead with it. I am aware of my shortcomings. I am a tribal and I wanted to be a Union minister and show to the world that a tribal can also be a minister in the Indian government. God has been very kind to me and I became Speaker of the Lok Sabha. I don't think I could have achieved these milestones without the grace of the Almighty.

Why didn't you realise that being in politics, Sonia would become a candidate for the prime ministership because all of you have been shouting 'Sonia lao Congress bachao'?

These slogans are raised to give the media some work (laughs). Seriously speaking, we became aware of her aspirations to become prime minister after the fall of the BJP government.

It is reported that you told her she cannot become the prime minister?

I told her about this when I found that she was too persistent to become the prime minister of this country. She has no experience at all. Besides, she is not a natural-born Indian. Only Indians should be appointed to the high offices of the President of India, the vice president and the prime minister and other important posts. This is a question of our national pride.

Why didn't you attend the meeting of the Congress Working Committee specially convened to discuss your letter?

Of course, we attended the Congress Working Committee meeting on May 15 and it was only after this meeting was over that we decided to write this letter. As far as the later meeting is concerned, there was no such meeting. She only called a few Congress leaders and showed them the letter.

You say a large number of Congress leaders would join you. But till date no leader worth the name has joined you. On the contrary, they are calling an AICC meeting to show their strength?

They are calling the AICC meeting because you cannot expel a CWC member unless the decision is ratified by the All India Congress Committee. Let them show their strength now, we will show them our strength after the election. Many more leaders will be joining us soon. If we tell you all today, you would not come back to us later. So wait and see who joins us and who does not.

Will you take your battle to the Supreme Court?

I am a lawyer and I fight other people's battles in court. I am not going to fight my own battle in the Supreme Court. Let us take it to the court of the people of India and they will give their verdict.

Are you talking to former Congress leaders like Mamta Banerjee, G K Moopanar and others to find out if you could join hands with them? Are you also talking to the BJP as is being alleged by the Congress leaders?

There is no question of holding talks with the BJP. We cannot join hands with a communal party. The rest of them are all welcome. We would welcome any assistance coming from the Trinamul Congress, TMC and other secular parties.

You say the Congress has not answered even one of your questions. Is it so?

The media has been covering the developments in the last one week, and I have not read one story wherein the Congress party has answered the questions raised by us. We want the Constitution to be amended.

Digvijay Singh says Congress leaders go out of the party as lions and come back as lambs.

Digvijay is a big leader. What can I say about him and what he has to say? I wish him all the best. But only time will answer this question.

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