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Your Bombay hotel work has stopped, the income tax department is chasing you for a couple of years now.

Not a couple of years, but they've been doing that for a long time now.

Your Sahara Shehar construction has come to a standstill. You go to Delhi and you are unable to meet the leaders of the government.

No, I have very good friends the Congress.

Do you meet them often?

Oh yes.

Top level in the party?

Oh yes, definitely.

What about the stories that they are shy of meeting you?

This is all wrong.

So who have you met lately among the senior Congress people?

There are many of my old friends. If I start, I will have to take many names.

Name some of whom you have met?

There are big ones, there are medium ones, small ones too.

You almost sound like the Hutch ads, small, medium, and large (Laughing). But they aren't shy of meeting you?

No.

Do you feel under siege right now?

No, why should I?

Because Sahara had the image of getting everything cleared. Everything used to go your way.

Whatever used to happen is happening today too. Where's the problem?

The Bombay hotel . . .

You talked about the hotel, you are talking about the construction here. Actually we had applied for sanctions. Sanctions were made. They were there, but still with the department. It's just matter of time. Nothing else.

You don't think Mayawati or the Central Government in Delhi are targeting you?

No, nothing of that sort.

What's your view on Mayawati?

She is a very strong administrator. And that's really needed for this Pradesh (Uttar Pradesh). And she has come to power with absolute majority. As a citizen of this Pradesh, I very strongly expect that she does good for this Pradesh.

You think that this five-year tenure should be good for Uttar Pradesh?

Should be. But Uttar Pradesh is such a large state, you can't expect any chief minister to be able to work magic. It's not possible. It should be divided into smaller states; that will be good for people here.

You will support that idea?

Definitely.

I'm surprised that you say Mayawati's coming to power is good for Uttar Pradesh. Also that you said good things about her, because given your friendship with the previous incumbent, one would have thought that you would feel like ashes. Your friends have lost power. Are you disappointed about that?

I tell you one thing: I never used to go to them for any favours. But for me it was a headache that people used to come to me and ask me to seek favours on their behalf, transfers and so on. It used to be irritating. I used to tell them, there's nothing we can gain from doing that except lots of problems because you are all in power. As I said, we don't have any political relations.

But they still happen to be friends of yours.

Tell me, in the three years Mulayamji was here, is there one benefit we have obtained. No.

And they still are your friends?

Definitely.

You are not disowning them, or distancing yourself from them.

Why should we? They are my friends, they will remain my friends. We believe that if there is a friendship and if there is everything right, then the friendship should be permanent.

At the same time you welcome Mayawati's arrival?

Yes, her arrival with a majority is a very welcome thing for Uttar Pradesh. Anybody who brings in a stable government. It's good for Uttar Pradesh.

So it's not as if you will be conspiring, or you will be party to conspiracy by your favourite friends, to destabilise this government?

The word conspiracy shouldn't be (associated) with us.

Okay then, a plan, a political strategy?

If you meet my friends, and not just the two names you mentioned, but others in other parties, they will say, 'This man is never involved in political discussions.' I don't like political discussion. I talk about development, good work.

How well do you know Mayawati?

From what I've seen of her administrative skills, she is a tough chief minister, which is very rare.

This time, the election issue was law and order in Uttar Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh is a victim of (lack of) law and order.

So you needed a tough chief minister.

I think we really needed one, and we are confident, and as a citizen, I strongly hope things will work well.

She's made a difference already?

Can't say at this stage.

I believe you have never met her?

(Laughs) I have never met her. It's unfortunate.

How come you've never met her? So many politicians come and meet you.

It's a matter of chance.

Have you sought time to meet her now?

Yes, I think I'll meet her sometime now, because she is our chief minister and chief minister means guardian of the state.

Is she not avoiding meeting you?

I don't think so. You have to ask her.

No, I don't know. You live in Lucknow and you are Lucknow's most prominent businessman, and one of India's, the Hindi heartland's, biggest employer.

Yes, in the heartland, yes.

So what's your advice to Mayawati if she has to run the state for five years?