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The Rediff Interview/ R V Pandit

'Vajpayee is going in the right direction'

Part 1: 'Rollback of power tariffs in AP would mean embracing populism'

On Kashmir and the competence of the Indian government:

We have been using words like impotent and eunuchs to describe our politicians and ministers for a long time. It is very easy to say that. Only arm-chair critics do that, people who can't contribute anything themselves.

I know more about this present Union Cabinet than many other critics. I also know what is happening in Kashmir, how Indians are getting killed at the hands of Pakistanis, why our prime minister still talks of peace even as pilgrims and security personnel get killed in Amarnath and other places. Still, I won't call the Union Cabinet a bunch of eunuchs. I would call them prisoners of environment who cannot unitedly break out of their circumstances.

Vajpayee is going in the right direction on many fronts. He is a problem-solver. But he never said that he will solve all problems. He is honest and forthright. Others in his position may have tried to appease the chief ministers in the row over the Finance Commission. But not Vajpayee, though his government's survival depends on their support. He has tried to explain that no report of the Finance Commission has ever been disputed, that their complaints will be examined.

In the Bombay bomb blasts, about 400 people were killed. Do you know that bodies had to be transported to hospitals and morgues on the top of taxis? Like luggage, bodies had to be tied to the cab-tops. What does this mean? We don't have enough infrastructure to take care of even 500 casualties in a city like Bombay. If there is a war, in the present nuclear era, India will be able to destroy Pakistan. But Pakistan will also be able to destroy at least half of one of our key cities.

We should calculate what is the cost to us of half of one of our cities wrecked and the whole of Pakistan flattened. Then, we would understand what we should do. In the pre-nuclear era, had Pakistan done the kind of things it is doing now in India, then, yes, it would have been appropriate to take action against Pakistan and call the political bunch impotent, if they had failed to take action. But in the nuclear era, the choice is between being either a fool or a wise man. And wise men do not get swayed by emotions.

There are columnists and columnists. There are three professions in the world that do not need any qualification. One is journalism -- and I'm a journalist. The other two are prostitution and politics. I'm sorry to say this but people in all the three professions behave so very irresponsibly.

On the former law minister's sudden resignation: 'There is no bitterness between Vajpayee and Ram Jethmalani'

Ram is a long-time friend. It's unfortunate that he was asked to resign from the Union Cabinet.

In India, we are mindlessly status quoists. Even when a mediocre or a corrupt person reaches the top through accident of seniority, we tend to treat that person as the repository of all virtues, all values, all wisdom, all expertise. That's mindlessness. Of course, being a soft state that we unfortunately are, it suits everybody, especially the Establishment, to take refuge in the false facade of stability, rule of law, procedures, etc, that our mediocrity has made us slave to. We also know that the judiciary is not the paragon of all virtues, yet we gladly assign that status to them. The current delicate state of our national politics cannot withstand upheavals; yet, only upheavals will bring about the changes we need and deserve.

There is no bitterness between Vajpayee and Ram Jethmalani. When the PM said that Ram has not learned the art of silence, it was a friend talking. Ram has seen it that way. But it is the media that cannot fathom these niceties.

Ram told me 15 days before he faxed his resignation that he wanted to quit. As a friend, I advised him to continue because he had the great challenge of cleaning up the judiciary. I don't think he would be back in the Cabinet.

I now feel he is unsuitable for any government job because he has travelled a great distance in a non-compromising mode. You need compromises in government. Inevitably, there will be a conflict. Ram thought he could compromise whereas he is unable to.

He told me once that political instincts of Vajpayee are correct. "As far as politics is concerned, I'm not fit to sit at his feet," he said. But where law is concerned, Ram Jethmalani is Number One. Yet, people find it easy to say things like, "Oh, he appears for smugglers." He is supposed to appear for his clients whoever they may be. Just like the Roman Catholic priest who has to listen to the confessions of even murderors and still pray for them, just as the doctor who has to treat a patient whoever he or she may be, the lawyer has to accept a brief and defend his client.

On differences between Vajpayee and Advani: 'PM consults Advani on every single issue and vice-versa'

People say there are differences between Vajpayee and Advani. I've been their friend for a long time. When in Delhi, I call on them on the same day. I've not seen any differences. I have seen that Vajpayee will consult Advani on every issue and vice-versa.

On who might be Vajpayee's successor: 'The BJP is entitled to elect its leader'

The BJP has talented people. At the top, it has very honest people. Some people call L K Advani fascist. I don't know the meaning of fascism where Advani is concerned. But can anyone say he is dishonest? Can anyone say Vajpayee is dishonest? Or that Jaswant Singh is dishonest?

Suppose if something were to happen to Vajpayee, then what? It would be a BJP-led government, right? L K Advani is there. Coalition partners may now hint that they may not support a BJP led by Advani. But when the time comes, they may do something else. The BJP will be entitled to elect its leader, right? But let's not dwell on this. Let's hope his pain in the knees is relieved. Let's hope his trip to the US would be very successful. Let's wish him a long, healthy life.

Part 3: 'It's now clear that communal clashes in the past were politically motivated'

The Rediff Interviews

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