For well over a fortnight, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has been caught in a cleft, after its strident posturing on Gujarat. Finally, party chief N. Chandrababu Naidu came up with no surprises during the Opposition's censure motion in the Lok Sabha. His party abstained from voting. The only surprise element: the TDP staged a walkout after the prime minister's speech. In an exclusive interview to
Naidu spells out his party's position on Gujarat and its future relationship with the NDA. Excerpts:
Why didn't you vote against the government after you had raised the pitch on the Gujarat issue?
But your vocal demand for Modi's removal has been rejected. Didn't you know that Vajpayee was not going to change his mind?
What will be your next step?
Don't you think your image has been dented because of this? You pushed the issue so far and then it appears that you let it drop…
But don't you agree that it was all an anticlimax?
Do you feel let down?
Will you take the lead role in the formation of a new Third Front?
Do you feel your secular credentials have come to be questioned?
Will you tie up with the BJP for the next elections ?
What is going to be your future equation with the NDA?
Isn't it true that since your government relies heavily on financial sops from the Centre, you did not take the battle to its logical conclusion?
