The BJP is critical of Sarathi baba. But, you had paid him a visit and sought his blessings.

Men like Sarathi were fooling the public. I wonder how the state agency could not have any idea about it. However, by paying him a visit, I did not commit any mistake. I went there just to know about his activities. Paying a visit to his ashram is not a mistake, but providing him support to flourish and expand is. Inquiry should be made to find out his political link. In fact, after my visit, I openly said something wrong had been going on in Sarathi ashram.

It seems that the BJP is adopting a double standard on the issue. Had the police allowed the mob to enter the ashram and kill him, it would have triggered a Kandhamal-like situation. Even the then Kendrapara SP, Satish Gajbhiye, had said so. 

The police should work intelligently to maintain law and order in a particular situation. They should have maintained law and order there, instead of resorting to lathicharge on the public and making the district BJP president do sit-ups.

Now people are targeting the babas. Mobs are entering the ashrams and ransacking. The day will come when mob will enter private houses. Then what? 

The country’s foundation is based on its spirituality. The saints are part of the Indian system and culture. If we go on targeting innocent spiritual leaders and the government remains silent, it will one day boomerang. If some baba acquires a patch of land in the forest and is busy in worship of God, he should not be targeted and land should not be taken away from him. But action should be initiated against the fake babas like Sura of Trahi Achyuta Ashram and those indulging in befooling the people. A fake baba like Prasanna Patasani, IAS officers and journalists have illegally acquired hundred of acres, but no action has been taken against them. But it’s unfortunate that the innocent babas, who just wear a loincloth, are being targeted. Too much will spoil everything.

While you and other state leaders are critical of Naveen, the central leaders continue to humour the chief minister and are even meeting him at his residence. Does not it send a wrong signal to the masses? 

You are talking of Union surface transport minister Nitin Gadkari’s visit to Naveen Nivas. It was just a courtesy call. If someone invites you for a tea, should you refuse it? That decency should be there in the state as well as the central leadership. No one is untouchable in politics. One should not take political rivalry to the personal level. Politics demands that courtesy.

But as no one is untouchable in politics, it seems that the party can form an alliance with the BJD in the coming days if the situation demands… 

There will be no alliance with the BJD. There are many difficulties in making alliance with it. Alliances are made only on certain principles. One of the objectives is to keep the Congress away from power. On that principle, the alliance had been made in the past. But that did not click and it collapsed suddenly. We had learnt a bitter lesson. Naveen was not courteous while breaking the alliance, doing it abruptly. How can we forget the way he had shown the door to Chandan Mitra, who had been authorised by the party to negotiate about the alliance?

It seems that the BJP is trying to follow a bi-party system (BJP vs Congress) and decimate the regional parties. It has been successful in some states, including Rajasthan and Gujarat. Is the same experiment going to be replicated in Odisha? 

We are a democratic country and have a multi-party system. But after the BJP emerged as the number one party, all other parties have united and trying to push us into a corner. As we are fighting back, a situation has emerged, in which it appears that a two-party system is going to evolve. In many other states, such situation has already arisen but it will take time in Odisha. We are not in a hurry and now the number two party in this state. The recent activities undertaken by the party had evoked huge public response and put us ahead of Congress in clear terms.

Keeping the political situation in mind, the BJP will continue as number two and cannot be number one as long as Naveen is there. The BJD has a huge support base. What’s your view? 

I don’t subscribe to this view. The people had a lot of faith and confidence in him. But that faith is on the wane with an alarming speed. Naveen has also started realising it and is making all efforts to arrest the trend. If you analyse one of his recent decisions of appointing four of his senior IAS officers to look after the affairs of four districts, you will realise that how scared he is. Besides, the number of disgruntled leaders in the BJD is on a rise everyday.

With Congress leader Rahul Gandhi making an impact during his recent Odisha visit, will its growth make any impact on the BJP here? 

I don’t think so. A lot of people don’t take Rahul seriously.

Here in Odisha, we notice that the non-RSS people are taking the lead in the BJP party and the people having RSS background are being pushed behind! 

Both the RSS and the BJP share the same school of thoughts. It does not imply that people from non-RSS background will not be allowed to enter into the BJP. After all BJP is a political party. It is a democratic party unlike Naveen’s private limited party-BJD. It welcomes all sections of people with different ideas and also gives them the platform. The RSS is the inspirational source for the BJP. But, it never intervenes in the party affairs.

If it is so, why a seasoned and a responsible politician such as M.A. Kharavela Swain became critical about the RSS’s functioning? 

The BJP had made him MP thrice from Balasore. When he was in power, he had neither criticised the BJP nor the RSS. After he quit the party, he had made some critical remarks. This was wrong. 

You had good public contact. When the BJP wave had swept the entire country, how did you lose the election? 

Till the last moment, I had no idea that I would contest the Lok Sabha election. Being a disciplined solider, I agreed to the party’s wish. The party had a weak organisational set up in the Assembly segments where it continued to pull around 4,000 to 5,000 votes. At the last moment, it was not possible to do any miracle. The rival BJD candidate was preparing the grounds much before the election. Besides, we did not have good financial backup to match the BJD’s money power. 

Your demeanour is like that of a baba. People also call you baba. What do you say about it? 

I am not a baba. I am a politician. I don’t like people touching my feet. 

The state has a number of bachelors, including chief minister Naveen Patnaik. Why do you remain a bachelor? 

It’s just like that. I remain busy with my household and party work. I crossed the age for marriage