‘Constitutionally, I am among the top three’

Having been in active politics for 50 years, how do you see your new role as the Vice-President?
I am trying to understand what it will entail. But I feel there are many opportunities to do work. The question is how? Answer: I don’t consider this post as a ceremonial one, it is more important than what I have done in Rajasthan. I feel I am not meant for protocol but protocol is meant for me.

After being elected, you said that you considered both the presidency and the vice-presidency as ‘‘political’’ offices. What did you mean?
I have come to this position through politics. My voters were politics ke dhurandar (mature politicians). I may not be in party politics any longer, but my efforts will centre around ways to strengthen democracy, to enhance the prestige of the country, to focus on the solution to the country’s main problems.

How did you win the race for V-P with a whopping margin?
When I filed my nomination papers, I had said that I had made friends, not enemies, in politics. It is a fact that I have no enemies at all. Aur mitron ne mitrata nibhayi (My friends maintained friendship).

So you ended up thanking the Congress publicly…
I thanked everybody from every party. I feel that my victory with such a large margin may pave the way for a different kind of thinking — that politics is not for opposition but for agreement.

Traditionally under the charge of the V-P, the ICCR has been taken away from you and given to Najma Heptullah. What is your reaction?
This happened before I was elected.

It is said that you are not interested in art and culture. Therefore, ICCR was taken away from you.
Any citizen who is not interested in the art and culture of his country is not fit to be a citizen. This is rubbish.

Arguably, state politics is different from national politics, won’t you find the going difficult?
I don’t agree. The field may be different, but the sense of politics, and the yardsticks are the same. The issues also overlap.

Will you be a proactive Rajya Sabha chairman or one who will confine himself only to Question Hour?
First I will sit in that chair and then decide.

Why did it take you such a long time to move to national politics?
I wanted Rajasthan to emerge out of its backwardness. There is no politics behind it, simply my heart’s desire. When I took charge of Rajasthan, it was one of the BIMARU states. Not any more. We established a literacy record, up from 38 to 61 per cent in a decade. Poverty is down. We have industrialised and created an infrastructure.

Are you a liberal and a moderate like Vajpayee?
I don’t understand these terms. If my actions established me as a liberal and a moderate, so be it. Meri koshish rahi hai ki maain rajdharma nibhaun (I have always tried to perform my political obligations). In 1977, when I first took over as the CM, I said I was a Hindu. I do pooja paath but I believe the CM has no religion. Raja ka koi dharma nahin hota (A ruler does not have a religion). This is what rajdharma is all about and I have followed this faithfully till today.