Q: Don't you think you have pushed the BJP away from the secular mainstream?
A. No. There is no change in the BJP's stand. For BJP, secularism has always meant Sarva dharma sambhav. For the pseudo-secularists, it means appeasement and vote-bank politics. Is it not sad that on February 27, when the Godhra killings took place, these pseudo-secularists' lips were sealed? But on February 28, their silence was suddenly broken and the humaneness began to overflow. Were the deaths on February 27 not deaths?

Modi being felicitated in Ahmedabad on his return from Goa

Q. What is the shift that the Gujarat episode has brought in national politics?
A. The 1973 Navnirman stir against corruption in Gujarat, in which I was one of the leaders, gave a new direction to the country. Similarly, after this episode in Gujarat, I see a new churning that will trigger a debate between the Nehruvian pseudo-secularism which has brought the country to such a pass and the true secularism of Rajendra Prasad and Sardar Patel. There will now be a debate among the pseudo-secularists on how to win the confidence of the Hindus. Even some of the Congress leaders now privately admit their party is behaving like Jinnah's Muslim League.

Q. The NHRC has taken you to task. Prominent people like Mallika Sarabhai have approached the Supreme Court against your Government's role in the riots.
A. Have they ever bothered about the ethnic cleansing unleashed against the Pandits in Kashmir? Or about the Mumbai bomb blast victims?

Q. Still, how can your Government be absolved of all that has happened?
A. My Government performed its duty to the best of its ability. Even your magazine says that the Gujarat Police saved the lives of 2,500 Muslims at Sanjeli on March 1. They also saved thousands of Muslims in the first three days and brought the situation under control in 72 hours. Nearly 140 people have been killed in police firing, the highest ever in Gujarat, and 27,000 people have been arrested, which too is the highest ever.

Q. Will you accept elections under President's rule? Is the situation conducive to polls?
A. Elections under President's rule are okay. In fact, I won't press for an early poll, but the pseudo-secularists are bent upon defaming Gujarat and its Government. If the Congress claims it is fighting an ideological battle it should have the guts to face the people. The pseudo-secular lobby may be ranged against me but the people are with me. And the situation is perfectly conducive to polls.