Commenting on the "sidelining" of senior BJP leaders including L K Advani and Jaswant Singh by Modi, Krishna said "There is a veneer of dictatorship ... God forbid it if something is going to happen where would be our democracy. Then we will have to ask wither democracy, a big question mark."
On various "scams" during the UPA rule, Krishna said Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, believe in transparency "which is reflected in the corrective actions" taken by the party.
"Congress has an inbuilt machinery for bringing about corrective actions ...Whereever it is necessary we handed over the matter to CBI and referred to other investigative agencies - that shows Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi- they believe in certain transparency," he said.
On Congress giving tickets to "tainted ministers" like Pawan Kumar Bansal and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan (despite Adarsh scam), Krishna said, "As long as they have not been convicted, I think they are entitled to be treated like anybody else - like you and me."
Asked why Congress was making an issue when former BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and mining baron Janardhana Reddy also have not been convicted, he said, "Isn't it a fact that somebody ended up in jail..."
On former Union Minister C K Jaffer Sharief deserting Congress and impact of his exit on minority votes, Krishna said in its 129 years of existence the party has the capacity to bounce back even after losing stalwarts including Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia.
Asked whether Aam Aadmi Party posed any challenge in the state, Krishna said his respect for it would have gone up if they had continued to govern Delhi.
"I was looking forward that they would bring changes.Yes, they brought in some fresh air into the theatre, but perhaps their inexperience prevented them from continuing in office beyond 49 days. I think that's where they failed," he said.
