•And your history with the BJP also seems to have begun at the time of the Emergency.

That was an important point and post-Emergency when the government was formed, I became a Cabinet minister. I am grateful to Morarji Desai for giving me that responsibility.

•Tell me about your experience with the BJP leaders when you were in jail. It seems to have bridged the gap between Hindu and Sikh politics.

Yes, the divide narrowed down. The relationship with the BJP was not for a specific purpose. It was natural and Sikhs in other parts of the country also began to feel safe. They were confident that a major political party in the country was with them. This was a positive development, because earlier, they used to feel isolated.

•Why do the Sikhs distrust the Congress?

Because immediately after the country became independent, the Congress gave us step-motherly treatment or rather, deceived us. Nehru made several promises to the Sikhs. As a reminder to these promises, Master Tara Singh held a conference in Delhi and was arrested there. When Punjab became a linguistic state, they deceived us yet again. It was they who wanted to make linguistic states. The strongest case was that of Punjab. They didn’t agree to it and there was agitation and finally, we became a linguistic state. But we were betrayed. Chandigarh was not given to us; it was with its parent state and then made into a Union Territory.

... contd.