BJP's Nirmala Sitharaman talks to Radhika Ramaseshan about her interests and experiences in the government.

Now, the minister of state for commerce and industry, her big break came when she was appointed a spokesperson and frequently fielded in TV debates on tough subjects such as defending Narendra Modi against various charges related to the 2002 Gujarat violence and the BJP's leadership conundrum before Modi was unveiled as the prime ministerial candidate.

Her sangfroid impressed the BJP, particularly Modi who asked her to stay put in Gujarat during the 2012 assembly elections which won him a third term. How did she do it?

"I always did my homework before going on a TV debate and was particularly meticulous on Gujarat because of the intensity with which those debates happened. I couldn't afford to go wrong on facts because that would have damaged my party. Before wrapping up the preparations, I consulted others. Each one of those debates had a ripple effect because I came out of them successfully, without getting mauled."

Modi's remark in an interview in 2013 in which he said he experienced as much remorse over the killing of Muslims in Gujarat as over a puppy run over by a careless driver was defended by her in the telecasts on that day when other spokespersons plainly said they didn't want to appear on TV.

"Ah that one!" she remembers, and adds, "I will disclose this with a sense of responsibility that I never ran away from anything on Gujarat. If anything I never let go of an opportunity because I was firm in my conviction that how could so many individuals be after one person's blood?"

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