• On what issues do you plan to fight the Bihar elections?Malay VashiThere are only two election issues — one is law and order and the other is development. About law and order, we don’t need to say much. People can see it all. The insecurity among people is at an all-time high. As far as development goes, people of Bihar have seen what we were able to do in the six years of NDA rule at the Centre. They have also seen what Lalooji has done in the last 15 years for development. He has been holding on only because the social combination of Muslims and Yadavs is so strong. But now even voters of these sections have realised that Lalooji has failed them on all counts.• If you win and form the new government, what steps will you take to control the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, given the fact that even your party has criminals?Ravi KumarControlling law and order is only a question of will power. The presence of any particular individual in our party will not stop our resolve to tackle crime in the state. We will come down heavily on criminals and ensure that Bihar is peaceful and crime-free within three months.• You were a minister in the NDA government. How can you say the JD(U) is secular?Gaurav DuaSecularism is a question of our belief and we believe in secular ideals. Allying with the BJP doesn’t mean that we dilute our beliefs. Even before the alliance with the BJP was formed, we made it a condition that the BJP must commit to an amicable settlement of the Ayodhya dispute, and drop the controversial demands for common civil code and abrogation of Article 356. The BJP agreed on the points and hence we are an alliance.• Considering the U C Banerjee report, what are your views on the Godhra incident and the riots that followed?Siddharth PandeyThe Godhra inquiry by the Railways is purely politically motivated. There is no legal ground for conducting such an inquiry at all. I, as Railways Minister, had acted strictly according to the Railway Act. The Railway Act is very clear that in cases of such incidents, the safety commissioner must conduct an inquiry. And if a commission is appointed under the Commission of Inquiries Act, the safety commissioner cannot duplicate an inquiry. In the case of Godhra, a judicial commission appointed by the Gujarat government is already looking into it and any other inquiry is extra-legal and politically motivated.• Periodically there are reports about a rift between you and George Fernandes. Who is the leader of the JD(U) — you or Fernandes?Anand PrasadIt is obviously George Fernandes. And then you have stalwarts such as Sharad Yadav. I come much lower. I have no pretensions of being a tall leader.• In the event of a hung Assembly in Bihar, will you reconsider your alliance with the BJP to explore other alternatives?Sunita SinhaIf there is a hung Assembly, then it means the return of Laloo’s rule. Because that is what the Congress and LJP want — that Laloo should be more dependent on them in the event of a fractured verdict. So we are telling people that a hung Assembly is not an option, it will only be a bargaining tool for the LJP and the Congress, against the RJD. They must vote for the NDA if they want to replace RJD. If Ramvilas Paswan was ready to quit his ministership, then another alliance would have been possible. Now, it is either NDA or RJD.
