Janata Party president Dr Subramaniam Swamy is happy that the Delhi high court took cognizance of the Union government's delay in responding to charges he leveled against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

In conversation with rediff.com's Tara Shankar Sahay after the verdict, Dr Swamy spoke about his determination to unravel the truth in the controversy since "the country's welfare is involved in it."

Are you happy with the judgment?

Your question is an understatement. The honourable court has seen the government's reticence to act and it has made its displeasure obvious by ruling as it did. The government (represented by Additional Solicitor General K K Sud) made haste to tell the court that it would do the needful. That, however, has to be seen. I have been vindicated because the government has four weeks to make its submission

The judgment had two distinctive parts: One is a direction to find the truth and file an affidavit. The second part is that in the event the government doesn't find (the truth), the averment (Swamy's petition) will be taken as the truth. That is extraordinary. The documentation which I have provided, the diligence with which I have pursued every lead, has obviously borne fruit. The court felt the government is prevaricating. The obvious consequence of my charges would be that Sonia Gandhi cannot remain a (Indian) citizen.

Why should the government come to the Congress leader's rescue when the prime minister and Mrs Gandhi have been consistently at each other's throats?

I believe that since 1995 Sonia Gandhi and (Prime Minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee reached a deal which I should have known (about), but did not. That's how the 1999 toppling of the Bharatiya Janata Party government, which I organized, failed to bring about an alternative government. I think Sonia's deal with Vajpayee entails that as long as he is prime minister, she will not make any efforts to topple him unless she can come in his place. The deal is to protect each other. I can say very clearly that the prime minister and Congress chief share a lot of secrets. They are also engaged in many deals on which neither side is willing to speak up.

Are you alleging there is a quid pro quo?

Yes, there is. There is collusion.

You were said to be a friend of the late Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi.

I was a very good friend of Rajiv Gandhi and I had affection for Sonia as his wife. But then I found that in every action of hers, she was doing what Rajiv would never have liked. For instance, take Rajiv Gandhi's killer, (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader Vellupillai) Prabhakaran. Sonia has never once got up in Parliament to ask what happened to her husband's killers or allowed any Congress MP to get up and ask what happened to Prabhakaran. Why has the government not caught Prabhakaran?

So where do you go from here?

I will wait till the four weeks are over. If the government doesn't file an affidavit, I will file a fresh application that my petition may be taken as true and the court may issue the necessary orders.

You said earlier that the government would never investigate charges against Sonia Gandhi. On what do you base your charge?

The prime minister knows fully well that if she is not there in Indian politics and she is not leader of the Congress party, his government will not last 10 days. She is his insurance.

Design: Dominic Xavier

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