George Fernandes was India's defence minister for six years in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's BJP-led government. However at the time of this interview - 21 April 2001 - he was out of office. He was forced to stand down the previous month because of revelations in the Tehelka 'sting' about party funding - but resumed the post of defence minister in October. In this interview, he talks about the Vajpayee's government's offer of talks about Kashmir's future. 'We believe that sooner or later the militants ... will understand that the only way to resolve disputes is through talks, and we will wait'. The interview also addresses Fernandes's unlikely place, as a socialist, in a BJP-led cabuinet and his anger over the Tehelka 'sting' and repudiation of allegations of corruption in party funding.