Activist and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi speaks with The New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla during Teekhi Baat on IBN7. Excerpts:
During the Lokpal agitation, you took on government. A privilege motion was moved against you. Now you have good feelings towards those MPs. You said political parties are doing good work. Why the change?
Because yesterday they gave the right law. Till now, they used to keep the CBI under their control. Now the CBI is under Lokpal’s purview.
CVC act was not amended via Lokpal.
No, even CVC is under Lokpal purview.
There is an impression of togetherness between the government, opposition and Anna. Anna sat on hunger strike. The government started acting on the second day. Moreover, there was no hype this time.
Anna does not sit on strike for hype, Anna says let anybody come or not, he will do the sacrifice that he has to.
What can be Arvind Kejriwal’s motive?
He would know that.
Anna took everybody’s name after the bill was passed, he would have taken Arvind’s name too.
Anna was pained. If not by him, by his colleagues. To tell one’s guru that he is being mislead and crores have been spent towards this end...
You mean Anna has been hurt…
Absolutely, Anna has been hurt. But he didn’t say it, but to tell such things to guru is a sin. When you say he has been misled, you yourself are misled.
Whom do you give credit, for Arvind’s win in Delhi? Janlokpal andolan, Arvind’s own personality, or the anti congress sentiment?
It was anger.
Do you think Arvind can run the government?
He certainly can.
He didn’t get majority.
If Congress supports, they can run it…
You wanted BJP-AAP to make government because mandate is against Congress, because I read somewhere that you were planning how to break Anna party and take it with BJP.
IPS does not teach politics. If I knew politics I would have become police commissioner and retired, and would have been in a government job somewhere, like my colleagues are.
Newspapers and people say you were of the opinion BJP and AAP should form government…
I initially said, since both have got people’s mandate…
For the full text of this interview, go to www.thenewindianexpress.com