HYDERABAD: Karan was at his witty best, giving repartees to the host and audience’s questions. A compilation of his views on various issues, in his own words:
On growing intolerance
People who rear cows, leave aside those who want to eat them, are lynched to death. People who don’t say ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ are told to go live in Pakistan. Today, we are becoming a majoritarian, intolerant country where Hindutva is dominating. This is exactly the opposite of the idea of India we cherished.
On Amitabh Bachchan and Parveen Babi
When I asked Amitabh Bachchan during an interview, “Have you ever had an affair with Parveen Babi?” He looked at me straight in the eye and said, “No!” When I asked, “What about Rekha?” He said, “No, not her either”. I was unprepared of what to say next, and turned to his wife Jaya and asked her, “Do you believe him?” She looked at her husband and said, “I always believe my husband.” If he was lying, he did it with such a straight face.
On his interview with Jayalalithaa
I kept asking questions that were deliberately provocative. I was not scared, but getting increasingly apprehensive as it was the first time I was interviewing a sitting Chief Minister.
Usually, in interviews, you rile someone, they get upset and angry, and then something or the other happens and the mood changes, and you come back to a more normal track. Here, with each question, the situation was getting more tense and fraught. I had no idea how long this would continue.
After the interview was over, Jayalalithaa’s staff repeatedly asked me to redo the interview. I stuck to my guns because her wanting to do it again convinced me that I had got the right interview.
On dictatorial tendencies of CMs and PMs
If we take Narendra Modi, when he was a Chief Minister, he gave interviews, walked out of those he didn’t like, and controlled them effectively from his point of view. But as a Prime Minister, he has given far less interviews. During those he has given as a PM, the interviewer does not dare interrupt him.
On Chandrababu Naidu’s fast-unto-death
Yes, I did ask him the question, “Are you going to die” during his fast in New Delhi in 2013. He was giving a series of interviews, with people lined up to speak to him. I asked that question because if he was not fasting to die, he was just pulling a con on all of us. There’s nothing inhuman about the question. In India, there are only a handful of people who have gone on a fast-unto-death and died. Potti Sreeramulu was one of them.
On discrediting PV Narasimha Rao
Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao deserved more credit than he had got. There was probably a concerted effort made by Sonia Gandhi and others to diminish the credit given to him to a ridiculous extent. An attempt was also made to suggest that the economic liberalisation began with Rajiv Gandhi, which clearly did not. Though he was a Congress President, PV Narasimha Rao’s body was not allowed to enter the premises of Congress party office in New Delhi. He was not given a funeral in Delhi, and instead, sent back to Andhra Pradesh.
On a possible interview with Sonia Gandhi
If I get a chance to interview Sonia Gandhi, I would ask her, “Why did you treat
PV Narasimha Rao so shabbily? What was the reason for not crediting him with the economic reforms, which saved India? Even in his death, why did you not allow his body to lie in state at the party headquarters?”
On his interview with Narendra Modi (post 2002 riots)
I decided to bring up the question immediately, otherwise it would hang like a Sword of Damocles over the head of the interview. I asked the first question, “Chief Minister, The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and India Today magazine look upon you as the best Chief Minister in the country. On the other hand, 140 million Muslims probably consider you a mass murderer. Do you have an image problem?”
On a possible interview with Modi again
Our last interview ended in just three minutes, with Modi saying, “Mujhe paani chahiye”. I thought he genuinely needed to drink, so I told him water is by your side. Later, I realised it was a ruse to leave the studio. So if I get to interview him again, I would ask, “Modi sahib, agar aapko pyaas lagi hain, toh paani pehle pee leejiyega (if you are thirsty, please drink water now itself)”.
On a serious note, yes, I would definitely ask him about his silence on cow lynchings, Dalits being victimised, ghar wapsi, etc. He finds time to tweet wishing happy birthday to cricketers and film stars, but doesn’t find time to express sympathy to those who are suffering. I would question him, “Mr. Modi, have your values got twisted since you became Prime Minister, or did you always have no values at all?”
On PM’s twitter controversy
It was discovered that the Prime Minister of India was following on Twitter at least 10 people who applauded Gauri Lankesh’s killer in their tweets. Not only was the PM following them, he was aware that these people were telling the world he was following them, and thus gaining popularity.
When journalists asked about this in public, BJP’s social media head Amit Malviya defended the PM’s right to follow whoever he wants to. But as a PM, you should be asking yourself, “Should I be following such people with despicable views?” In a democracy, Prime Ministers are not just political leaders, but also moral leaders. When Gauri’s murder anguished all of us, we looked to the PM to take a stand around which the whole country could have rallied. Modi ducked that.
On the threat to Indian media
There is no doubt that Indian media is under pressure. Though not as bad as the Emergency, there is a cause for worry. BJP has decided that one way of tackling difficult interviewers is not to appear on their shows. Calls go out to Editors to ensure not to carry a particular news segment or story.
Advani once said during Emergency, “You were asked to bend. You chose instead to crawl.” This is apt for Indian media even today. There is a need to stand up for fairness, objectivity and the right to speak up. A part of Freedom of Speech is the right to offend. If you don’t like a channel, you can turn it off. But don’t stop the media to be tough and offensive, because if you do, you kill the media and free speech, and democracy in general.
On Rafale controversy
Former French President Francois Hollande’s allegation that Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence was imposed on Dassault as a partner is a bombshell. He further stated that Dassault had no free will to choose its partner, and the French government had no option but to agree.
Assuming Hollande is not lying, then we have the first clear, irrefutable instance of crony capitalism under Modi government. Reliance had set up the company just 10 days before Modi signed the deal with France. The story is developing and has the potential to become BJP’s Bofors moment.