145;People say I am soft on terror. What should I do? Go on shouting about it?146;

Agriculture is doing well. We have paid a lot of attention to making food grains easily available and to restrict imports. Employment is being generated by the NREG scheme National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. On the social front, we are facing a very complex situation: there are tensions developing between people of different communities. Some people who are religious and fundamentalist in attitude and have parochial feelings are creating problems.

Fortunately, there have been no threats posed to national security. Internal security has been threatened and it will be discussed in the next general elections. Such a debate is welcome to remove whatever current defects exist in the system. So far, we have paid more attention to development than to security. If there is enough security, development becomes easier. I believe we have not been able to inform the citizens properly on issues of security. National security is the responsibility of the Centre. Terrorism and crime are to be managed by the states. However, it is not possible for the Union government to say it is not responsible in any way for the current security scenario and it is wrong for the states to say we cannot cope with the situation. Cooperation between state governments and the Central government is required for the desired results. Fortunately, such coordination has been possible among all political parties.

8226;Ravish Tiwari: You have been in politics for very long and a Speaker of the Lok Sabha, but after losing in the 2004 general elections, did you anticipate you would be given such a big responsibility?

I have been in government for a long time. I have contested 11 elections and lost one. There is no doubt that my current job is of great importance but I have never felt burdened by it. I am not very apt in dealing with the media and that is why I think I get the flak. But I have dealt with Parliament and I know how to deal with people and the problems of the country and that is why I have not faced problems as Home Minister.

8226;Ravish Tiwari: Why are those outside the government demanding your resignation?

I am not here to defend myself. Why is it necessary to discuss this issue?

8226;Ritu Sarin: Do you think it is unfair to attack you, alone, whenever there is a terror attack?

This criticism has not disturbed my equanimity. People are entitled to their opinions. I am blessed to be able to bear criticism. If I was not, I would not have remained calm. In the last two months, I haven8217;t experienced a single tense moment.

8226;Ritu Sarin: The government has a huge shopping list for the modernisation of its security and intelligence set up. Is there a political will to implement this or is financial clearance a stumbling block?

I have never had any difficulty while dealing with the Finance Minister or any other cabinet minister. But if you expect things to be done in a day or two, there is a problem. Our system is such you cannot immediately act upon a decision. Things have to be conceptualised. Then they have to be left to the administration for implementation. The process takes time. If things are not done in the right manner, you will land up in a soup later on. But I have never had any problem in getting anything done. People are not acquainted with our plans, policies and projects to strengthen the intelligence agencies, modernise them, provide better transport and communication facilities. These moves have been going on for several years. It is only once you know these details that you will be in a position to question whether we are doing enough. The media doesn8217;t have the time to understand all the details and we don8217;t have the time to explain it all. Thus, a communication gap is created, leading to criticism from many quarters.

8226;Shekhar Gupta: There has been a breakthrough in the recent blasts that ties everything to one group. Are you confident that this breakthrough is genuine8212;allegations that the Jamia Nagar encounter in Delhi is fake have led to demands for a judicial inquiry?

The current breakthrough is a good success but we need to do more. As for Jamia Nagar, at this stage, I cannot say whether I have any doubts or not. You have to examine the evidence before coming to a conclusion. It is our duty though to convince people that we would not take an unjust stand. I have never said that what the police did was wrong or right. The executive cannot pass a judgment. You cannot expect me to say whether it was fake or not for it will be interpreted in different ways. However, people make demands without understanding things. A judicial inquiry takes up to five years and even after that you cannot punish someone on the basis of that inquiry. An investigation, filing a charge sheet and the court8217;s judgment together can take up to 10 years. There is an investigation in progress and the matter will be transferred to the court. If the court says it is wrong, then the people who have done it will be held responsible.

8226;Sobhana K.: People are holding rallies protesting against the encounter but your government is not ready to back your own police. The police force is very angry, it feels abandoned.

I do not think the police misunderstand the government. There is a procedure, let it be followed. If some people have doubts, it is our duty to convince them that we will not adopt wrong methods to defend ourselves or to unnecessarily harass others. We would like to be as correct as possible and that is exactly what we are doing. People say I am very soft on terror8212;what do they mean? Should I go on shouting about the matter? Should I contradict them every now and again? If an occasion arises where dialogue ceases to work and the state has to act, it will do so. On the other hand, deciding that a certain section of the society is solely responsible for a terrorist incident and proceeding against them is not correct. I am not going to form an opinion on the basis of hearsay.

8226;Shekhar Gupta: Was Inspector M.C. Sharma a hero?

Why should we ask these questions? If he has died in the service of the nation how can we say he has not done his duty unless it is proved otherwise? I went to his funeral, offered flowers, sympathised with his family and unless it is proved otherwise, I do not want to degrade him or his memory. I do not know how many people actually knew Sharma closely, but everyone is now forming opinions and raising questions about him.

8226;Seema Chishti: There seems to be a lack of clarity on this at the political level. Both those who believe Inspector Sharma is a martyr and those who think Muslims are being targeted because they are Muslim, are annoyed with your government. Aren8217;t you falling between two stools? You don8217;t seem to be making statements to command the middle ground?

People say we are targeting Muslims only. They do not know that we have banned many organisations that belong to different communities. There are approximately 24 such organisations in different states that have been banned. Are we not proceeding against the Naxalites and do they not comprise members of different communities? At the National Integration Council meeting last week, the PM explained the government8217;s policy. There is no lack of clarity on that. We would like to see that innocents are not harassed8212;there is no ambiguity in our minds on that. We are not saying all Muslims are terrorists. There have been instances when Hindus have taken up arms8212;that does not mean that all Hindus are terrorists. We would not do anything simply on the basis of caste, community or religion.

8226;Raghvendra Rao: At the NIC meeting, you reiterated that the existing anti terror laws are adequate. So has the government abandoned the idea of a new anti-terror law?

Let8217;s look at laws like MISA, TADA, POTA which have been repealed. The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act MACOCA came into existence and continues to exist in Maharashtra. I was an MP when TADA was repealed. At the time, we were in the Opposition and asked why it was being repealed. The government of the day said because it was being used to keep people behind bars for long periods. The same charge was leveled against POTA. But when POTA was repealed, we transferred some chapters from it to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. These included chapters on protection of innocents from terrorist acts, transfer of funds from one organisation to another or one country to another, making admissible in court the evidence collected by electronic methods, telephonic conversations, etc., the provision relating to the immunity offered to officers who acted against terrorists with a bonafide intention. The Unlawful Activities Act is a law that can be used to control terrorist activities. What we have objected to is the admissibility of a confession given to the police as evidence in court and shifting the onus from the prosecution to the defence for proving guilt, as this goes against the basic tenets of criminal jurisprudence. We have also amended the CrPC on the basis of reports from the Law Commission. As for Maharashtra, it has MACOCA; yet it is affected by terrorist attacks. The law by itself cannot help. But a law is important and should be amended when required.

8226;Shekhar Gupta: If Maharashtra can have this law, then why are you not clearing similar laws for BJP-ruled states?

When TADA was repealed, the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra brought MACOCA into existence. It was not a Congress government that enacted the law. If Gujarat wants to pass such a law, it can do so without the permission of the Government of India. I cannot ask the state to repeal a law. In the Gujarat law and in MACOCA, there are provisions like those in POTA. Can the executive approve of provisions that were repealed by it? POTA said that confessions made to the police should be made admissible as evidence. But POTA was repealed because of such provisions, so how can I let Gujarat pass a law with such provisions? If such provisions are taken out of the law, there is no problem in approving it.

8226;Ritu Sarin: There are 40 people on death row and 26 cases are pending. Has President Patil reviewed or discussed any death row cases with you?

I cannot discuss these matters. They are privileged.

8226;Vinay Sitapati: Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and NACO have provided evidence that decriminalising homosexuality would prevent AIDS. So why has the Home Ministry filed an affidavit before the Delhi High Court saying that it will actually increase the spread of AIDS?

A law has to be acceptable to people if it is to be effective. You cannot implement a law because it has the government8217;s sanction. But tell me, how many cases have we actually filed to prosecute people for homosexuality? There are no such cases pending in the court except those where children are victims of sexual abuse.

8226;Coomi Kapoor: Were you hurt when the Left vetoed your name for President?

I would not like to defend myself nor would I want to say that something wrong was done to me. My countrymen and my party have given me much more than I deserve.

8226;Ravish Tiwari: Now that the government is ready for elections, what do you as Home Minister have to flaunt as successes?

Between 1999-2004, the number of incidents in J038;K, the North-East and the Naxal-affected states, and incidents of communal violence was 36,000. The number for the period 2004-2008 is 25,000. The number of civilian casualties for this period has come down from 11,000 to about 6,000. Yet, we are told that the situation has worsened.

Transcribed by Ayesha Arvind