History will repeat, and the country will have a PM like Manmohan Singh: Stalin
The purpose of this election is to decide who should not come to power than who should come to power, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin tells B. Kolappan. People are angry with Prime Minister Narendra Modi because he has damaged the country with his s
M.K. Stalin
DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said in an interview with The Hindu on Monday that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s one visit is equivalent to 10 visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tamil Nadu. Excerpts:
You have campaigned in many elections and what differentiates the present election from the previous ones?
The purpose of this election is to decide who should not come to power than who should come to power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the fray with the mask of the ‘Gujarat model’ and ‘hero of development’. The mask has slipped and, today, he has been exposed as “corrupt Modi”. People are angry because he has damaged the entire country with his selfish politics.
There is an apprehension whether democracy will survive if Mr. Modi is reelected to power.
This particular allegation has not been denied by Mr. Modi himself. For the first time, people of India fear India will be converted into an autocratic state.
On the one hand, he has not fulfilled his promises and, on the other, he has betrayed Tamil Nadu.
There is a perception that the BJP will increase its vote share and emerge as an important force in Tamil Nadu… Mr. Modi and his cabinet colleagues have been visiting Tamil Nadu many times. Do you think it will strengthen the party?
The Modi government is facing stiff opposition in the northern States, his stronghold. That is why Mr. Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah seek to make up for it in the southern States. In the South, particularly in Tamil Nadu, the ideology of the BJP is against the mindset of the people. That is why the road shows of Mr. Modi and Mr. Amit Shah flopped. On the other hand, people attend in large numbers the campaign meetings of the INDIA bloc. After 2016, the BJP has been continuously making efforts to gain strength by weakening the AIADMK.
There is an effort with the help of the media to construct a myth that it is growing. But the BJP can never take root in Tamil Nadu. The party does not have the intention to win over even 100 voters through good schemes for Tamil Nadu.
The Prime Minister has visited Tamil Nadu many times, but Congress leader Rahul Gandhi just once. Has the Congress handed over the responsibility of organising the campaign to the DMK?
What does it mean? Rahul Gandhi’s one visit is equivalent to 10 visits of Mr. Modi. It is like saying, oru thadavai sonna nooru thadavai sonna maadhiri (saying it once is equivalent to saying it 100 times).
Will the AIADMK make any gains since it has refused to join hands with the BJP? Has Edappadi K. Palaniswami proved wrong the allegation that he and the AIADMK were slaves to the BJP?
The separate front led by the AIADMK is a oneact play that is being enacted with the blessings of the BJP’s leadership. He [Mr. Palaniswami] is not just a slave but also a bonded labourer to the BJP.
He is not ready to open his mouth against the BJP even after snapping ties with the party. It is more atrocious than his behaviour when he was part of the BJP alliance.
Mr. Palaniswami cannot run the party and politics against Mr. Modi and Mr. Amit Shah.
They were the ones who allowed him to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair for four years. He is keeping low fearing the backlash of raids. Probably, he is the only leader who refused to have an alliance with a political party after meeting its leader. He was made to act in such a manner by Mr. Shah.
There is a perception that a multicornered contest is working in DMK’s favour. How do you respond to the contention that the situation would have been tough for the DMK had the BJP and AIADMK entered into an alliance?
Elections should be judged based on the trend on the ground and not through imagination. Has the rival camp discovered the reasons for their defeat even before the results are declared? These parties contested together in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and 2021 Assembly election. But they were defeated.
The alliance led by the BJP is projecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the INDIA bloc does not project anyone as a Prime Ministerial candidate. Is it an advantage or disadvantage? In the past, coalition governments such as the United Front had failed...
INDIA bloc is the face of the alliance. Our slogan is, “Let us defeat the fascist BJP.” The alliance and the slogan have been accepted well by the people. Prime Ministerial candidates are not projected in all elections and that is the history of Indian elections.
You are questioning the United Front government, but conveniently forgot the UPA government. The media predicted a victory for the BJP, which claimed that India was shining in 2004.
But the Congressled UPA at the national level, with the participation of the DMK, won a majority of the seats. The victory was secured without projecting a Prime Ministerial candidate and Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister. It is history that he ruled for 10 years. The history created in 2004 will be repeated after
20 years now.
You welcomed Mr. Palaniswami’s assertion that the fight in the election is only between the DMK and the AIADMK. Is there no space for a third party in Tamil Nadu politics?
When asked about the close fight, I said it was between the DMK and the AIADMK. I do not say that there should not be a space for other parties.
There is a perception that the elections would offer surprising results in favour of the AIADMK? Do you think Mr. Palaniswami’s campaign cut ice with the voters?
What is in store for the AIADMK is a shock and not a surprise.
If the AIADMK led by Mr. Palaniswami makes efforts to retain the second place in the elections, it will make clear whether they are interested in nurturing the party or leading a fake alliance in favour of the BJP.
There is discontent among the government employees and teachers because the promise to implement the old pension scheme has not been fulfilled. Transport workers are yet to get their pension benefits. Will this not impact the DMK?
The DMK has always been a friend of the government employees. Government employees know how MGR, Jayalalithaa, and Edappadi K. Palaniswami worked against their interests when they were Chief Ministers. The employees were arrested.
There seems to be a difference of opinion between the DMK and its allies in constituencies such as Karur and Tiruchi. Vellore also has witnessed innerparty squabbling…
We respect the rights and sentiments of alliance partners. There is an effective coordination between the DMK and its allies. When we say, “forty is ours and the country is ours”, it includes the constituencies you are talking about. I have directed our partymen to work as if I were the candidate of all constituencies.
What is your take on the BJP’s manifesto?
Prime Minister Modi gives guarantees without any warranty. They have cut and pasted their old promises. People have ignored the promises because they have come to the conclusion that he was not going to form the government. People have not taken the BJP’s manifesto seriously. They have prepared a manifesto without the word India. People will ignore them in the election.
There is a claim that the BJP will win between 370 and 400 seats?
Even the BJP is not making the claim. We are receiving information that the BJP is facing a crisis in the northern States. The BJP belt has been snapped by local issues in the States considered to be its stronghold.
Why are you so angry with Mr. Modi?
Though I have nothing personally against Mr. Modi, he is a representative of a wrong ideology. As a Prime Minister, his thinking is against the Constitution, the poor, and the SC/STs. We have to oppose him since he has converted his regime into a unitary and dynastic rule, and destroys the States. So, my anger is shaped by ideology and morality.
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