Interview: Nirmala Sitharaman

Why is the BJP upset with Sonia Gandhi’s return as the head of National Advisory council and recalling the office of profit controversy when its own MPs are guilty of the same charge?
I do not want to comment anything on the office of profit charge. But till today, Sonia Gandhi was remotely controlling the UPA government shedding away responsibility for things like the nuclear treaty. Now she will control the Centre directly. With the prices going up, its also proved that they are not concerned with the interests of the ‘aam aadmi’ that they claim. They only want the common man’s vote.

But the NAC was her brainchild with priorities like the Food security Bill.
We are talking about some parts in Rajasthan that are drought affected where Congress has shown an absolute disregard for the common people. Where liquor barons have such a strong hold over the state government that liquor is being stored in PDS godowns. Congress ruled states couldn’t provide even grains to the poor through the PDS system, then it has no right to offer a fair Food Security Bill.

Is the BJP apprehensive about the Communal Violence Bill, which is also the NAC’s priority.
As far as the Communal Violence Bill is concerned, Congress in itself is deeply communal. The kind of Muslim reservation they have gone ahead and given to some in Andhra Pradesh is communal in nature. They grab opportunities to favour one religion over the other. Their stand on the accused in the Coimbatore blasts is appalling. They did not do anything about it. Maharashtra Home minister RR Patil too did not take any action when two policemen were lynched by a mob inside the police station. Wasn’t that communal? No human rights group close to the Congress took it up.

But so was in Godhra. Should Modi resign if the accusations against him the SIT proceedings are proved?
There is not a single FIR against Modi. Who is the Congress to demand Modi’s resignation? He got a letter after eight years of the riots and according to the legal procedures made himself available for interrogation for eight and a half hours. He followed the legal process and kept his word. Congress is actually frightened of its ownself. Modi has answered all questions unlike Mrs Gandhi who imposed an Emergency because she could not accept the Allahabad High Court verdict, which was against her. After her assassination, her son Rajiv Gandhi even justified the Sikh riots by making the famous statement that when a big tree falls earth shakes. Did the BJP ever resort to a response or an act like that? There are so many too the Congress’ credit, Khairlanji massacre, Nelli massacre in Assam.

The Congress and the BJP are trying to gain brownie points over Amitabh Bachchan’s endorsement of Gujarat.
Firstly, the Congress is scared of Gujarat’s development and hence defaming Modi. Secondly, Amitabh Bachchan’s victimization is not Congress vs BJP thing. It’s more of a Congress versus the Bachchan family battle because Congress has a history and a methodology of harassing anyone and everyone who disagrees with its first family.