Rahul Gandhi has talked about being open to prime ministership and since Manmohan Singh is still Prime Minister, there are bound to be sensitivities about projecting Rahul at this stage. But as a young parliamentarian belonging to the Congress, what do you have to say?
Sachin Pilot: Rahul will be prime minister sooner or later.

Sooner, or later?
SP: That will depend on the party. Ultimately it is the Congress President, and the MPs who will decide. At a personal level, I feel he has the capability, vision and determination to work for the country and give leadership as Prime Minister.

When Rahul became an MP four-and-a-half years ago, he was viewed as a prime minister in waiting by the Congress. Now four years down the line, many feel he has neither shown the inclination nor come up to scratch.
SP: The uniqueness of Rahul is his acceptance across religions, castes, regions. Whether it is Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Nagaland or Kashmir, thousands of young people come out to hear him. That cannot be said of L K Advani. In addition, he is sensitive about the concerns of all communities, and has an understanding of the ground reality. It is important to have someone with that kind of approach.

He is taking his own time making up his mind, and discovering India…
SP: With the expectations levels being what they are, and as long as he is doing what he believes in, it will pay dividends to the party.

Will Rahul lead the Congress campaign in the 2009 general elections?
SP: He will be the star campaigner not just for the Lok Sabha elections but also for Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh. There is demand for him and on his side there is a commitment. It is now full throttle.

How will the older leaders react? Already the decision not to field those over 70 years of age in elections has been reversed under pressure.
SP: It has not been revoked. It was a suggestion given to the party to keep it in mind. There will be as many new faces as possible.

There is scepticism about the way he is recruiting people for the Youth Congress and the NSUI.
SP: He has opened the floodgates of the NSUI and Youth Congress to all and sundry. In the last 20-30 years, the rise in these organisations was related to who was backing you. We all know how there used to be fudging and one leader would simply pay up and make 500 ‘farzi’ members. Now, these are going to be professionally run organisations where merit will count. There are no favourites in this system, and it is having a big impact on the ground.

Through email, sms or by walking into the office you can apply (to become member) and there is a system to have your application verified.

For the first time in decades, an election in the Youth Congress will be held in Punjab end- October, which will be a watershed. Rahul has gone there personally to supervise the booth committees. It will be as open as a tambola game. It is a new way of doing things, and represents a bottom up approach.

It will encourage people who have no networking in Delhi to become office-bearers. These will be people who want to do something, have talent and may be good at speaking, writing…they may be working in an NGO or on environment issues. This opening up of access was never done before. In Orissa, in less than three days, 54,000 had signed up. These are real numbers with empirical evidence.

We are the largest democracy and 54 per cent of our population is under 25. If the Congress can tap into these people, it can become a movement.

What you are talking about is Rahul opening up and professionalising these organisations. But that cannot be a substitute for giving a political lead, like a clarion call to mobilise youth?
SP: The objective of opening the doors of frontal organisations is to involve millions of young people in the political process in India. When young and professionally qualified people take up leadership roles, it will augur well for the nation.

The Congress is not able to get its act together on tackling the challenge of terror and is confused on whether or not to go in for a strong law, whether or not to change the home minister, whether to annoy the Muslims or placate the Hindus…
SP: I don’t agree with what you are saying. We have enough laws. If necessary, laws may need to be tweaked. But TADA or POTA are not the solution. The conviction rate under POTA was less than 1 per cent. It was used to target and terrorise certain people.

The supervision of existing laws needs to be done more forcefully.

Whether in Delhi or Ahmedabad or Jaipur, the spate of bomb blasts was very tragic, and members of the Indian Mujahideen have been charged. There are also other terrorist activities going on, whether it is by Naxalites, ULFA, other groups in the North East, the LTTE — they are also inflicting damage. We must not discriminate between the perpetrators of crime.

If someone is a terrorist, the strictest action must be taken against him, whatever be his last name — Christian, Hindu or Muslim — without fear of political disadvantage or backlash. Because India is more important than individuals or groups. This is not the time for blame games.

There are some leaders in the UPA who have called for a ban on Bajrang Dal. What is your opinion?
SP: If Bajrang Dal is openly vandalising places of religious worship, that is equally unacceptable. What is happening in Orissa and Karnataka is an open defiance of the rule of law. The Bajrang Dal as an outfit should be banned. So should SIMI. I don’t agree with the statements of Lalu Yadav and Ram Vilas Paswan (on SIMI).

Both these organizations are fanning communal hatred and tensions. They thrive on divisive issues. No terrorist can hide behind the fact that, because he is a Muslim, he should treated benevolently. Or if he is a Hindu, no one should prosecute him. The moment you have evidence and it is proven, there should be strict action. India cannot afford to have religious cards played.

Your government has been charged with dragging its feet on the hanging of Afzal Guru.
SP: The highest court has given him death sentence. But every person has the right to file a petition before the President. That is where the matter stands. As far as I am concerned, if the Supreme Court says he should be hanged, and he was proved to be involved in the terrorist attack on Parliament, there is no space for any debate on this.

Coming to the personal, why did you decide to come into politics?
SP: Actually I took two years to decide. It was not family pressure or pressure from the party. I took a conscious decision when I was 23. It was after my father passed away.

I had done my master’s and been in the corporate sector and worked in the media. But in none of these areas could I shake up things up. I thought if put my heart into it, I might be able to do it in politics.

Recently I have been working to build toilets for girls in schools. I discovered the real reason why girls would not go to schools was the absence of toilets. I am doing my best and if I can give a little hope, I am satisfied.

Politics in India is a non-stop business, sometimes meeting people, people and people. How do you chill out and re-energise?
SP: I have to find time in between phone calls, meetings, travel, for family and friends.

I am traveling a lot and I enjoy interacting with people. I have found that you learn the most from the most unlikely of people, whether it is a tribal from Asansol or from Rangapada. It is this which gives me incentive and drive (to go on) and I feel good.

Did you discuss the possibility of entering politics with your father (Rajesh Pilot)?
SP: No, we never talked about my entering politics when he was alive. However, my first election campaign was for my mother (Rama) in 1990 and then for my father in 1991. After 1991, between the three of us we fought 13 elections, and I have taken part in 10 of them.

And since you are only 31, that is quite an exposure to electoral politics?
SP: It is this electoral political exposure that has given me the opportunity to keep close to the people and try and work for them to the best of my ability.

One question about your state. With elections due in November, the Congress is not able to derive the kind of mileage it could have because it is leaderless in Rajasthan?
SP: The Congress is a 126-year old party. The BJP is a 24-year old party. They have a handful of leaders-Narenda Modi, Yedyurappa, Shivraj Chauhan and Vasundhara Raje Scindia, only ‘Ek, do, ya paune do neta’. Why doesn’t Mody campaign for Rajnath Singh or for Nitish Kumar in Bihar? Let’s see how strong he is in these states.

It is easy for them to declare who will become CM. We have a line longer than your notepad. There is no need for us to project one leader. ‘Vote padta hai party ke liye’, for its past and its future, from Mahatma Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi.

The BJP cannot go beyond “Kasam Ram ki Mandir wahin banayenge”.

The profile so far…

The MP from Dausa, Rajasthan, was educated at the Air Force School in New Delhi and at St Stephen’s College, after which he got a degree from Wharton Business School. He worked for a while with the Delhi Bureau of BBC and General Motors Corporation. True to his name, he is fond of flying and received his private pilot’s license from New York in 1995.

He is also a keen sportsman and has represented Delhi state in a number of national shooting championships. Pilot is a Member of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Home Affairs.  He is a member of the consultative committee in the ministry of civil aviation, and also a member of the budget estimates committee of Parliament. He was selected as one of the Young Global Leaders 2008 by the World Economic Forum, Davos in recognition of his professional accomplishments and commitment to society.