Sandesh Prabhudesai
20 February 1998
Whom do you prefer between the BJP, the UF and the Congress party ?
I prefer regional parties rather than any national party.
And what if the Congress-led coalition comes to power ? What is your opinion about the Congress ?
I want Congress to be finished from this country. I am confident that they won't come to power this time. I know your next question, what if they come to power, right ? We would not hold talks with them.
Whom would you prefer among the UF leaders to be the next prime minister, Deve Gowda, I K Gujral or Jyoti Basu ?
Deve Gowda is a respected leader, because he is the leader of the poor people. I don't mind if Gujral or Basu is made the PM. But my first and best choice would be Com Indrajit Gupta as the prime minister.
Why didn't you get any of these leaders for your election campaign, like Khalap brought Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah ?
Mine is a regional party and I have full confidence in my own people. Khalap brought Abdullah to woo Kashmiris in Goa, who are actually involved in drug trade along the coastal belt in North Goa. He is protecting them from such anti-national activities. I would be very happy if these Kashmiris go back to their region rather than spoiling our Goa.
What is your stand on criminals getting into politics ? Because many parties still want some more changes than simply debarring convicts from entering the fray.
That is not fare. If you are convicted, you should definitely not be allowed to contest. But otherwise, anybody can be called a criminal by filing false cases against them. Wasn't I detained under COFEPOSA, calling me the smuggler ? Even my brother was killed by the customs officer. But they could not prove anything. It was a clear-cut political conspiracy.
But with such an approach, criminals will have a free access to enter the Parliament ?
Who are you to decide who is a criminal ? Let the court decide about it. Once he is convicted, however, he should be disqualified as the MP or the MLA. Not before that. It will lead to more number of political conspiracies.
EARLIER INTERVIEW OF '96 Your Comments Please
