I go by the Constitution. It does not ask Speakers to resign (from the party). The Constitution is of the view that as Speaker, any member of the Lok Sabha will be completely neutral, without resigning from his/her party. All previous Speakers retained their party memberships but you cannot raise a finger on their credentials as far as impartiality goes.

But what did you make of that phase when your predecessor took the steps he did?

He is a man of great stature and conviction. He has tremendous power of conviction.

You have been an officer of the Indian Foreign Service. How have experiences there stood to guide you in your political career?

As a young Foreign Service officer, I was a language trainee in Madrid. It was all about going through the mill, running from here to there, trying to catch your breath… All this comes in handy now—time management, the ability to prioritise work.

You are a woman of many parts, yet, several commentators and leaders, including the PM, made much of the fact that you are from the Dalit community. How do you react to that label?

We live in a caste-ridden society. Everybody here has a caste label, which stays with you till you go to the grave. What do you do about it ? I wish it would change, but it doesn’t. We shouldn’t be identified with the caste we represent, but with the work we do, our integrity and our struggles. But it’s not just me, all Indians, our introduction is not complete till the caste is found out! We must get over this. Our circumstances of birth override all our qualifications and achievements.

... contd.