"BJP Can't Dictate Akali Policies"

Doesn't the BJP differ with the Akalis on the question of police excesses during militancy?

We are not bound by what the BJP-RSS combine says. They call SSP Ajit Singh Sandhu (who committed suicide recently) a brave man; I call him a coward. All cases against him were registered under Supreme Court instructions. So, the BJP and RSS are insulting the Supreme Court.

Is your government determined to carry on the investigation against "erring" cops, despite opposition from the BJP?

We are investigating how those police officers accumulated so much money. I'm surprised at the statement of a leader of L.K. Advani's stature opposing such a probe.

No Akali leader attended Sandhu's bhog ceremony?

Why should any Akali leader go there? Are we slaves of the RSS that we will attend any zalim's bhog ceremony?

But you honoured the family members of the militants like Bhindranwale Jinda etc on baisakhi day?

That's not a new thing. I declared them martyrs at the World Sikh Convention held in Amritsar. The SGPC honoured Bhindranwale, Sukkha, Jinda and others. There was a time when even Mahatma Gandhi refused to consider Bhagat Singh a martyr. The kar sevaks who demolished Babri Masjid and got killed in the melee are called martyrs by the RSS. There's no uniform yardstick of deciding who should be called a martyr. Some people call even Sandhu a martyr. Let them call General Dyer a martyr in Shaheed Udham Singh's place, then we might as well think of changing our martyrs.

So, given these differences, how long will the Akali-BJP coalition last?

Any attempt to browbeat the Akalis won't work. They (BJP) are speaking against our policies. Either they should stop opposing us or leave (the coalition). We understand the BJP's majboori -- they want to rule the country. They should also understand our legacy. The coalition will last till they want it to last. The day they try to dictate to us, we'll reconsider the present arrangement. I've told them clearly that our agreement with you is political, so don't try to dictate to us on religious matters.