Mallika Sarabhai, danseuse and independent candidate from Gandhinagar, feels that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi&rsquo;s development claims are hollow. In a conversation with Sreelatha Menon, Sarabhai says she is fighting to win.

'I am in politics for good'

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Punjab Deputy Chief Minister and Shiromani Akali Dal President Sukhbir Singh Badal tells AASHA KHOSA the agenda for the coming election is development.

'We don't believe in raising emotional issues'

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, foreign minister of Pakistan, spoke to Karan Thapar on the CNN-IBN programme, Devil&rsquo;s Advocate, telecast on Sunday night and to be repeated on Monday.

'We are fully committed to fight terror ...all stakeholders in Pakistan are on board'

The prime minister&rsquo;s special envoy on climate change, Shyam Saran, tells SREELATHA MENON that India is under pressure to cut emissions but no one has the upper hand.

&#39;What the US has done is too little&#39;

Congress candidate Milind Deora is seeking a second Lok Sabha term from the Mumbai South constituency that goes to polls on April 30. Delimitation has meant that the constituency, which was earlier home to mainly India&rsquo;s super-rich, now includes the mill areas of central Mumbai, which has been a Shiv Sena stronghold. Deora speaks to Sidhartha about his prospects in what is being seen as a closely contested election.

'I will ensure good governance'

In March-end, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) kicked off supply of gas from its field on the country&rsquo;s coast. Increased availability of gas could drive new usage in the long run. In an e-mailed interview, RIL President &amp; CEO (Petroleum) PMS Prasad shares his insights on how the gas economy would evolve in India.

'Gas market in India at inflection point'

Jairam Ramesh, who gave up ministership to design the Congress campaign and manifesto, talks to ADITI PHADNIS about the 2009 general elections.

&#39;It is going to be a close fight this time&#39;

Terrorism, and not relations between India and Pakistan, is the key issue, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee tells Karan Thapar in an interview for CNN-IBN&rsquo;s Devil&rsquo;s Advocate. The interview will be telecast on Sunday. Edited excerpts...

'We have never raised the temperature with Pakistan'

Days after presenting the Interim Budget in Parliament, followed by another stimulus to the economy, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke to Karan Thapar for CNN-IBN&rsquo;s Devil&rsquo;s Advocate. The interview will be telecast on March 1 at 8:30 pm.

Final GDP figure will be about 7%: Mukherjee

Putting forward the government&rsquo;s view on the high level of fiscal deficit, chief economic adviser in the finance ministry, Arvind Virmani, claims the 6 per cent deficit is reversible and should not affect India&rsquo;s sovereign rating. In an interview to John Samuel Raja and Prashant K Sahu, he says most expenditure items are one-off and will not recur.

'Economy will return to trend growth rate after 2009-10'

The last time the Congress had tied up with the Trinamool Congress was in the 2001 West Bengal assembly elections. However, the party was humiliated. The two parties have again joined hands for the coming general elections. This time, the success of the alliance depends on the sincerity and dignity of the partners, Manas Bhuiyan, leader of the West Bengal unit of Congress Legislative Party, tells Saubhadro Chatterji.

'Cong needs long-term alliance with TC'

India&rsquo;s economic condition. Even otherwise, it would have been a big issue. But the global recession has intensified beyond expectation and in India this has become a bread-and-butter issue.

&#39;The UPA govt smuggled FDI into country&#39;

Though there are some negative perceptions about West Bengal&rsquo;s ability to attract investment, a close look at facts reveals that the state received the highest number of memoranda from industrial entrepreneurs in 2008, West Bengal Industry Minister and CPI(M) politburo member Nirupam Sen tells Saubhadro Chatterji.

'West Bengal still among top investment destinations'

Dhanendra Kumar, chairman of the country&rsquo;s antitrust body Competition Commission of India (CCI), is a busy man nowadays. He wants to have the Commission fully functional at the earliest. A former executive director of the World Bank and an officer of the Indian Administrative Service, Kumar tells Sapna Dogra Singh in an interview that competition can spur best practices in economy and technology.

&#39;Fair competition is answer to many problems&#39;

The BJP ditched us. Their unreasonable demand for more seats in the Assembly elections resulted in the snapping of the alliance. The BJP was trying to expand its base in the state and seemed to give priority to its own interests while the BJD always gave priority to the interests of Orissa. In the run-up to this year&rsquo;s polls in the state, the BJP demanded more than 63 Assembly seats on which it had contested the last time. But in reality, their popularity was down.

&#39;We are open to joining UPA, Third Front&#39;

Justin Yifu Lin is the first person from an emerging country to become the World Bank&rsquo;s Chief Economist. Now on leave from Peking University, he spent 15 years as founding director of its China Centre for Economic Research before taking the Bank job in June 2008. In Mumbai to deliver Exim Bank&rsquo;s commencement day lecture, he took time off to speak to Sidhartha.

'In a recession, governments have to spend'

With a number of regional political parties joining its fold, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is well-placed to return to power. In a conversation with Aasha Khosa, BJP President Rajnath Singh says the party&rsquo;s focus will be on economic issues as all sectors are hit by the adverse economic policies of the incumbent government.

'NDA will enjoy a full-fledged majority'

I don&rsquo;t use the word tit for tat. It&rsquo;s too much of a clich&eacute;.

'Jharkhand pact was based on parties' strength'

The babu of brinkmanship, Shatrughan Sinha, talks to Aditi Phadnis about his nomination as the BJP candidate from Patna Sahib.

'If not Bihar, where else would I contest from?'

We will make it tough for the Left Front in all the 42 seats in West Bengal. In the last election, we had only one seat (Mamata Banerjee from South Kolkata). This time we will certainly reach the double-digit mark.

'We will win at least 70% seats'

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union minister Jaswant Singh says the core idea behind the NDA&rsquo;s bid for power is to provide a stable, efficient and result-oriented government where the commitments made are actually delivered.

'NDA's thrust is on governance'

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