Q: You mooted an audit of the MP/ MLA local area development fund during elections. Do you think the time was right?
A. Election is the time when voters can put pressure on political parties to address their issues. Now everyone has agreed to a public audit of Rs 1,600 cr or so spent under this head. The BJP, which initially said it would take a decision on the issue only at its national executive in March, changed its mind and agreed to my proposal.

Q. Your meeting with Sonia Gandhi fuelled suggestions about your return to the Congress.
A. If I want a national consensus, how can I omit the Congress? I am not joining any political party. I am not even a Lok Morcha member. I pursue my goals single-mindedly. The Congress president responded positively.

Q. Do you think Sonia met you because of the move to extradite Bofors pay-off accused Ottavio Quatrocchi from Malaysia?
A. Don't read a motive into every act. There is good in everybody.

Q. Are you upset with Mulayam Singh Yadav for not giving you the seats you want to contest.
A. Besides, these can be considerations for those who do not understand politics fully. As for ties with Mulayam, my equations matter little, my goals do. Politics is like chess, should be played with the head, not with emotions.The Samajwadi Party is the best weapon to defeat the BJP and it has to be used for this purpose. The Congress is comparable to a laathi, the BSP to the sword and the Samajwadi Party the cannon. It is only natural we depend on the cannon.

Q. Why are you opposed to use of filmstars and helicopters in election campaigns?
A. Election is a time for political education and debate. This is the only time when people's issues can be focussed upon. The presence of filmstars trivialises things. A whole election is gone through without any serious debate. It is a political loss. The Congress and the BJP set this trend of involving actors in politics. I have full regard for Amitabh Bachchan as an artist. As for Shabana Azmi and Raj Babbar, they have been involved with politics even before they joined film industry.

Q. Have you shared a platform with Bachchan during these elections?
A. I have campaigned for him for three days when he contested against Bahuguna in the 1980s from Allahabad.

Q. What are the other issues on your agenda?
A. I feel strongly about bringing down the cost of elections. There is a need for consensus against using helicopters. Choppers cost Rs 4 lakh a day. We must cut costs. If I could take on the Congress without using helicopters, I am sure everyone can. Chief ministers should also avoid using them. As prime minister, I 've canvassed in three state polls on road. National security is another area of concern. The country's security has been in peril on more than one occasion under the NDA Government. There is corruption in defence purchases. When a quasi-judicial authority like the CAG points out something, the Government attempts to muzzle it. Corruption in defence purchases should be punished with death.

Q. You asked for an apology from Prime Minister Vajpayee for bringing down your government ?
A. They (the BJP) withdrew support to my government for allowing construction of the Ram temple. I told them I could not violate the Constitution and asked them to go either by the court judgement or by mutual agreement. Twelve years later when they are in office, they are saying the same thing, even in their manifesto. As for the VHP raking up the issue now, I wonder how the graph of Ram Bhakti rises whenever elections come. The VHP should be confronted with the undertaking they gave to then Union home minister Buta Singh. They had agreed to go by the court order. They must be told that Ram and falsehood cannot go together.

Q. Do you see the end of the road for caste and religion politics?
A. I do. The next decade will be the politics of hunger. People will soon cease to act as caste groups. They will start acting as farmers and workers. As for Mandal, everyone has now endorsed my stand on mandal and mandir. The social justice programme has become a travesty. It has degenerated into a base for electoral dynamics. Compulsory education should be the next step. As for sub-quotas for the MBCs, there should not be just equality of opportunity but equality of results as well. The Supreme Court made this observation.