COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA
ARCHIVES

The Rediff Interview/Pritish Nandy

'I think those who have stood outside the ring and criticised should have a bash. They should try it and see whether they can make a difference'

What kind of changes will you try to bring to politics after becoming a Rajya Sabha member?

I have no idea. I want to restore certain credibility to Indian politics. I hope I will be able to do it. If I find I am not capable of doing it, I can reconsider my decision later on.

The Sena had promised a lot of things before the 1995 assembly elections, like 2.7 million jobs to youths, Zunka Bhakar scheme, building houses to slum-dwellers... All of these remain unfulfilled three years later. Can you comment on that?

These are areas which I have never looked at. I don't know the facts and figures. But if you feel I need to look into it, I will. And, I will come back to you.

The Sena has always got bad publicity. Will you try to rectify that?

I think every party gets an image for what it does. You cannot tar a party. You cannot whitewash a party. The Sena will get its image for the performance it deserves. However, if somebody asks me for assistance in the area of media relations, I will provide them.

Dissidence is brewing in the Sena. People are saying that already power is not in the right hands. And the sacked Maharashtra forest minister, Ganesh Naik, is openly giving statements against the party high command.

But that is going on in many parties. Why should the BJP support Arun Shourie? He is not a BJP card holder. He is not a BJP member.

But Arun Shourie was always known to be soft towards the BJP...

True. But that's another matter. That is the difference when you fight in a Lok Sabha election, you are fighting under the banner of a party. But when you are fighting a Rajya Sabha seat, it's a different matter.

What about the Srikrishna Commission report, do you think it should be made public?

I feel the state government should table the report whatever it may say.

By such statements don't you think you are hurting party sentiments?

I don't think the Sena is a narrow-minded party that it cannot have different schools of opinion.

Do you think the report should be tabled?

I have no idea. I don't even know the merits of the case. I don't know the reasons also why they are not tabling the report. I believe that there is another side to the case. Let me be honest. I believe that what has happened is the past. Should we revive the memory of something which has happened and cause tension? Do you want another riots to be the response of the report? You tell me.

You think it shouldn't be tabled because it will cause another riot.

I have no view. I am just saying, politics is the art of choosing between two decisions. Sometimes you choose the wrong decision. But sometimes you choose a wrong decision wilfully, and knowingly.

Why do you think the Sena was defeated in the recent general election?

I think the combination of three groups -- Muslims, Dalits and traditional Congress supporters -- was too strong for the BJP-Sena. And of course, the anti-incumbency factor also played a role.

When M J Akbar joined the Congress party, you had stated that the wildest thing a journalist could do is join a political party. Do you still hold the same belief?

Therefore I have not joined a political party. I am not campaigning in Bihar. I am being nominated by a political party to the Upper House. There is a lot of difference between the upper house and the lower house. There is lot of difference between being elected under the banner of a political party and being nominated by a political party.

Mr Nandy, you had drafted the letter former deputy prime minister Devi Lal sent then prime minister V P Singh -- while you were editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India. Don't you think you lost your credibility at that point itself by taking part in the political process?

(Thinks) Somebody didn't know how to write a letter, they asked me to suggest and help. So, I did. I would help him or any of my friend. If you have to resign from Rediff On The NeT, I will be happy to draft a resignation letter for you ( laughs). I have helped many friends of mine draft letters. Some of them extremely, intensely passionately love letters too. Does it mean that I have committed a crime? I lost my credibility? No, I think I have only added to my skills as a communicator. Credibility is not like one's virginity that you lose at the drop of a hat. Credibility is something that you live or die for. And nobody can take it away from you if you choose not to give it.

Why do you think politicians have a bad image in this country?

The political system has failed all round. The large number of scandals which has happened for 45 years of Congress rule has made people lose faith.

Is that also one of the reasons you are taking to politics -- to rectify it?

I think those who have stood outside the ring and criticised should have a bash. They should try it and see whether they can make a difference.

What are your plans for Bombay?

(Interrupts) Mumbai, not Bombay! I think Mumbai is a role model city. A resurgent Mumbai can create a resurgent India.

The Sena has been advocating entry pass to Bombay, a ban on newcomers, and some sort of I-D cards for the city. Do you agree?

Bombay has a very serious problem of migration. This city will collapse under the deadweight of the migration of people. Migration is of two kinds. The poor and the illiterate who build slums and shanties and the rich who come here and increase the number of cars and the price of real estate. So both of them are making life difficult for the traditional Bombayite. I believe that the traditional Bombayite must be protected. The man who originally lived in the city. The Parsis, the Maharashtrians and the Christians. They cannot even afford to live in the city anymore. They are being pushed further and further away to the suburbs. The Christians of Bandra are moving out. Muslims are moving out and ghettoising.

Everybody is moving out and I think that is a tragedy for this city. Therefore, something should be done. Be it I-D card or something else. However, I am not a specialist and I have no idea how to do it. But, I can only say that the problem of migration must be coped with. We require serious international analysts to study it.

What is the attraction politics holds to journalists that they take to it?

I think journalists are finding that they are losing their voice. They are no longer effective in journalism. So much of journalism is becoming entertainment. You open the paper everyday. You find sports, movies and light-hearted trivia. A lot of them feel that they are not being effective in actually changing India for the better. And that is why they are hoping that politics may provide them that opportunity.

You mean politics can better the country more than journalism?

I don't know whether it is better or worse. I know it is yet another route to make an impact.

So how do you see yourself at this stage? As a poet, a writer or a politician?

I see myself essentially as a writer and a poet who strayed into journalism. Because he hoped to leave an enduring impact on a nation that he felt could do better. It is the same reason that I have accepted the nomination to go for the Rajya Sabha.

The Rediff Interviews