MDMK general secretary Vaiko in an interview on Wednesday said the outcome of the election would change the face of Indian politics. He said Tamil Nadu would be a battleground against rabid communal and sanatana forces. Edited excerpts:
You have been campaigning for the DMK-led alliance across the State. What is your assessment?
Both in rural and urban areas, there is overwhelming support for the Secular Progressive Alliance. People are gathering in lakhs. Any criticism against the AIADMK government is well received with applause. When I speak about the DMK’s electoral promises, people roar with appreciation. The DMK has come out with 1,451 promises and when I cite some of them, women welcome them. Free bus passes and ₹1,000 a month for women have had tremendous impact on them. Women are going to decide the outcome of this election.
The DMK manifesto is silent on the demand for prohibition but your party and other allies have promised to implement it….
I hope the DMK government will include prohibition in its agenda. I have been fighting for prohibition and my mother died for the cause of prohibition.
What will the outcome of this election be in your assessment?
The DMK and its allies will win over 200 seats. The politics of the country will change after the election. Tamil Nadu is a Dravidian land and it will be a battleground against communal forces.
In India, Tamil Nadu will be the only State that will fight against the rabid communal and sanatana elements. It will be Tamil Nadu versus Hindutva forces in the future.
In a democracy, the role of the Opposition is vital. Will not a brute majority to one alliance deny space for the Opposition?
A party that looted resources and destroyed the State should be wiped out in the election. The AIADMK will not get even the status of an Opposition after this election. The government never worried about the State in the last 10 years. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has said that maintaining a good relationship with the Prime Minister is good for the State. But the Prime Minister has not released the amount sought by Tamil Nadu to overcome the destruction caused by cyclones and other natural disasters. The State sought ₹1,45,473 crore for cyclone relief, but the Centre released just 4% of that.
What does this election mean for the MDMK?
The outcome of this election will revitalise our party’s organisation and pave the way for its resurgence. Our partymen will function with new hope. All six candidates of our party will emerge victorious.
The Sri Lankan Tamil issue always dominated your public discourse. But it seems to be missing in the election campaign now...
DMK leader M.K. Stalin urged India to vote in favour of the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution against Sri Lanka. But India betrayed the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. I have been highlighting this in my campaign.
I have not forgotten the Tamil issue. In 2009, there was a resolution in support of Sri Lanka, and now the United Nations has taken note of the human rights violation in the last phase of the war. It is good progress.
In two years, there might be more awareness and more countries will support the resolution against Sri Lanka for its war crimes. The issue has not died down.
What are the issues that have come to the fore in this election?
Corruption and the Centre’s failure to help Tamil Nadu have come to the fore. The AIADMK government supported all anti-people legislation of the BJP government. The Citizenship Amendment Act was enacted because the AIADMK supported it in the Rajya Sabha. It also supported the farm laws.
The BJP has been implementing laws and measures to fulfill its goal of ‘one nation and one law’.
The Centre created a national recruitment agency to conduct common preliminary examinations for various recruitments in Central government departments. They recruit a candidate from Delhi for a job in Tamil Nadu, and such measures pose a danger to India’s federal nature and unity.
The Centre is imposing Hindu and Sanskrit, and this has resulted in hatred against the Centre.
Is it possible to get exemption for one State from NEET, as promised by the DMK and its allies?
We will try. We will adopt a resolution in the Assembly and mount pressure on the Centre. We will refuse to cooperate with the Centre.
