It is a classic case in AP with 6 ministers in the dock

Cong has failed to deliver on the promise it made on Telangana. There is a raging debate on the BJP prime ministerial candidate, with the focus centred on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. How do you see this debate? The BJP Parliamentary Board, the highest decision-making body, alone is the competent forum to take the call on the BJP prime ministerial candidate. The decision will be taken at the appropriate time. Having said that, let me tell you that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is by far the most popular leader. Modi's recent forays in Delhi and Kolkata, where he addressed the elite and the masses alike, demonstrated that Modi instantly connects with the people.

How committed is the BJP on the creation of Telangana? At the outset, I would like to know why no questions are asked of the Congress for not delivering on Telangana. Credibility of the Congress is at stake for its continued inaction on the issue of formation of Telangana. The Congress entered into a pre-poll alliance with the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), which is a single-agenda party. The Congress Election Manifesto promised Telangana. After coming to power on that plank, the Congress and TRS shared power, both at the Centre and in Andhra Pradesh. Telangana found mention in the UPA Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and in the first President's Address to the joint sitting of Parliament in 2004. The Congress is still in power both at the Centre and in the State and yet it has not delivered on its promise. There is no forward movement on the Congress honouring its electoral commitment to the people on Telangana.

Is the BJP still committed to creation of Telangana? Telangana is on the BJP national agenda and on the NDA agenda. There is no issue, as far as Telangana is concerned. To put the issue in perspective, the Kakinada Resolution in 1998 was passed by the Andhra Pradesh BJP. The NDA Allies had reservations. The Telangana issue was brought on the party national agenda in 2006 during the previous tenure of BJP President Rajnath Singh and the NDA Allies are all on board. The BJP leadership has pledged to honour its commitment in the first 100 days of coming to power.

How do you see the situation in Andhra Pradesh? For the first time in the history of free India, a strange political situation has arisen in Andhra Pradesh, where six Cabinet Ministers received notices, where the charges are of very serious nature. These include transferring public funds to private hands, colluding with private industrialists and giving out special privileges. Under the Congress Government led by late Y S Rajashekhara Reddy in Andhra Pradesh, large-scale corruption took place, which is now getting exposed, with a string of ministers being chargesheeted by the CBI. Already one minister had to resign and go to jail and two more are facing a similar prospect.

How do you assess the political situation in Andhra Pradesh? After two consecutive tenures in office, when the Andhra Pradesh voter invested his trust in the Congress, the brazen nature in which the ruling party has handled the affairs has left the voter high and dry. It is a classic case of the Congress arrogance. I am sure that the voter, in each of the three regions of the state, for his own reason, will teach the Congress a befitting lesson.

There has been a recent controversy over the dual power-centres in the Congress. How do you react to it? The twin power-centres arrangement has played havoc in governance and accountability. The internal contradictions in the party have not allowed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to go any further in reforms. Union Ministers have been compelled to forfeit what are the Constitutionally-provided duties in favour of the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. She does not seem to be accountable to the people of India. The internal contradictions and compromises required to keep the alliance together has seriously compromised the economy. Now, Finance Minister P Chidambaram is rushing to Japan and Europe to activate foreign direct investment, after allowing the current account deficit to run amuck. To bridge the deficit, FDI seems to be the only route. Economy, agriculture, industry and service sector have all been allowed to languish. Too many economists � Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman C Rangarajan, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and to some extent Finance Minister P Chidambaram � together have spoilt the broth.

Why has the BJP made a big issue on the recent Delhi court order on reinvestigating the anti-Sikh riots case against Jagdish Tytler? The BJP welcomes the order of the court to reopen the case against Jagdish Tytler. The reason being that the Congress always talks of the Gujarat riots of 2002 but never utters a word about the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and elsewhere in 1984. A Commission of Inquiry has pegged the loss of lives at 2,733. It was a Congress-sponsored, one-sided anti-Sikh riots. Leave alone convictions, there are no cases or investigations. The CBI was misused and the Congress adopted delaying tactics to shield its leaders linked to the gory riots. The CBI in March 2009 gave a clean-chit to Tytler. The Opposition parties and several Sikh bodies protested against this outrage. It is mention-worthy that the CBI Director, who gave the clean-chit, is rewarded for his service with a gubernatorial post. The recent Karkardooma court order directing reinvestigation and re-examination of witnesses in the anti-Sikh riots that rocked Delhi in 1984 in the case involving senior Congress leader Jagdish Tytler is welcome for this reason that it offers yet another opportunity to those seeking justice.

Were there more Congress leaders involved in the anti-Sikh riots? There were very many other Congress leaders, who were accused of perpetrating this sponsored-massacre. This is evident from various Commissions and Committees, which named late H K L Bhagat, Dharam Das Shastri, Sajjan Kumar, Kamal Nath and Jagdish Tytler. It is relevant to mention that a civil suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. On January 23, 2013, in the State of Grison in Switzerland, a case is filed against Kamal Nath.