• The booklet carrying your father’s sermons says that one should love his country first.

I am a Muslim and if I love my country then it is so because I am a Muslim. If a person is not a real Muslim then we can get suspicious whether he is a friend of the country or not. Those who practise religion can never be enemies of the country because our religion teaches us to love our country.

• But now some people are saying that those who led in Nandigram did so because they got support from the US. So now there is an allegation that you are friends with America.

Here, he (Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee) is not just a chief minister but a dictator as well. So when he saw such a big obstruction he started accusing people without any evidence. During George Bush’s visit to India we had staged a demonstration which nobody did in the country. Even Bardhan Sahab had participated in that. So when we opposed Bush’s visit to India, we did so because we were his (Buddhadeb’s) friends!

• So you are against Bush and America?

Yes. We can never be friends and we don’t have to give explanations for this. We are also against India’s foreign affairs policy. The policy is against India’s identity.

• But Bengal says that Sadiqullah met some high officials from the US administration, who directed Sadiqullah to take this step.

That’s their version. People from different backgrounds visit us. We never say no to anybody. We are even ready to meet Buddhadebji.

... contd.