Jayanthi Natarajan and Ravi Shankar Prasad at the EXPRESS

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•Coomi Kapoor (to Jayanthi Natarajan): It seems as if Mulayam Singh Yadav is going to jump on board the Congress bandwagon. How will you justify this considering the kind of name calling that has been exchanged between the two parties over the last few years? Also, is there a secret deal and what is Mulayam Singh going to get out of this?

Jayanthi Natarajan: There is no secret deal. We have had our differences with the Samajwadi Party and parted ways, sometimes rather acrimoniously. But we believe that in a democracy, dialogue is essential. That is happening now. There are a couple of important issues being discussed, one of them is the nuclear deal. We do believe that it is in the national interest. If Mulayam Singh Yadav and his party are willing to support the deal, we’ll be very happy. Our primary concern is to keep communal forces at bay and ensure secularism.

Ravi Shankar Prasad: The metamorphosis of the Samajwadi Party regarding the nuclear deal is intriguing. It was the most vocal in opposing the deal. When President Bush was here, the largest demonstrations in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh were organised by them. There may be a variety of reasons for the Samajwadi Party’s changed stance. Maybe it’s a change of heart, maybe the compulsions of UP politics, maybe it’s a new cocktail with the CBI as bartender. But this business of ‘communal forces at bay’ — how long will this political idiom remain relevant given that these two parties have been rebuffed repeatedly by the people of India? Congress came to power in 2004 on the stated grounds of keeping communal forces at bay and had nothing in common with the Left. And now we see the position of the Left on the nuclear deal. Also, except in Assam and Goa, we have won the elections in all other states.

•DK Singh: Is the Congress ready for a pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party?

Jayanthi Natarajan: It would be premature to make a statement about any pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections or in UP. As for keeping communal forces at bay, those whom the hat fits must wear it. Our purpose is to keep communal forces at bay and it is a political idiom which is relevant. We hear L K Advani talking about building the Ram temple now. That was on the backburner, earlier. So this is an important issue for us.

•DK Singh: Last week at a meeting with the Left, RJD leader Laloo Prasad Yadav had stated, “You are helping the BJP”. Did he specify whether it was the Congress or the Left?

Jayanthi Natarajan: I don’t think he meant the Congress at all.

•DK Singh: Is the Left helping communal forces?

Jayanthi Natarajan: The Left has every right to have its own ideology. They have very strong convictions about the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. Therefore, I would hesitate to impute any motives. But if the aim is to keep a secular government in place, people need to think of what steps need to be taken. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the coalition and the Government to ensure that there is governance.

•Suman K Jha (to Ravi Shankar Prasad): How important is the Congress in your idea of India?

Ravi Shankar Prasad: The Congress is a major all-India party. If India is to grow as a strong democracy, then we should have a stable multiple party-system. In that way, we consider the Congress Party to be a strong opposition party to us, ideologically. The only problem we have with them is that we wish they were more broad-based and not centred on ‘a’ particular family. Otherwise, we respect them as a national party. Our differences are too well known to be repeated.

•Suman K Jha (to Jayanthi Natarajan): How important is the BJP in your idea of India?

Jayanthi Natarajan: The BJP is the principal opposition party for the Congress. The BJP should recognise their status as the principle opposition party and acquire a better all-India character and move on from a divisive agenda to a more inclusive one. I wish the BJP would resist the temptation of resorting to a divisive agenda during elections and focus on more basic issues.

Ravi Shankar Prasad: This constant refrain about divisive politics is becoming redundant. Let the people take a call on it. Take the case of what is happening in Srinagar. The Government has given into the demands of the separatist groups. There has been a consensus in the country that regardless of faith provisions will be made for devotees across the country. There is no better example of divisive politics than the Government’s decision to surrender to the separatists demand.

•Suman K Jha: On the Amarnath issue, the BJP is mobilising support against the state Government’s decision nationwide. It also aspires to be the next government at the Centre. Can a political party with such aspirations afford to alienate an entire state on an issue like this?

Ravi Shankar Prasad: It’s not a question of alienation. In this case, regardless of faith, convenience should be of prime importance and the Government should not have submitted to the separatist forces, the way it did.

Jayanthi Natarajan: The yatra for centuries has been undertaken in a spirit of communal harmony. The Amarnath shrine was discovered by a Muslim shepherd and the family has been engaged in conducting the yatra for decades since. Even today, the J&K Government has taken full responsibility for the logistics, the temporary shelters and pilgrims’ safety. The Amarnath Shrine Board never existed till the NDA government at the Centre and the National Conference government at the state-level created the board making the state Governor in charge of it. That’s when the divisive agenda began. Even today, the land is in the charge of the J&K Tourism department for the yatra. There is no ban on the yatra and yatris continue to come. So it is not a question of surrender.

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