‘DMK far removed from its principles; law and order situation is concerning’

Since 2019, you have largely been with the NDA. You have been with either the AIADMK or the BJP. You have been severely critical of the DMK and its alliance despite sharing several ideological positions. Why?

The DMK has forgotten its ideology and has moved far away from its principles. In 1967, it came to power riding the wave of the anti-Hindi agitations, hijacking the student movement. However, Tamil Nadu is the only State in India where one can get a degree without learning the mother tongue. In Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, you can’t get a degree [without knowing your mother tongue]. When the DMK was a minority government in 2006, we urged them to make Tamil a compulsory language. They passed a Bill. A case against it is still pending in the Supreme Court. Whenever there is a corruption charge against them or when the Enforcement Directorate hounds them, the DMK immediately hires top lawyers and goes to the Supreme Court. Why can’t they do that for this Tamil issue?

What is the importance of caste census/survey and why is the DMK hesitant to launch one?

We are not calling it a “caste census” anymore. We will be calling it the “social justice” census, as many feel uneasy when we use the word caste. The caste census by the Centre is just a headcount; you can’t bring in any programmes with just a headcount. The social backwardness of communities can be ascertained only by the State government. For instance, Telangana’s caste survey put forth 75 questions. And in Bihar, they found out that 94 lakh families had an income of less than ₹6,000 per month, and consequently, implemented social welfare schemes. If I were the Chief Minister, I would, in the first three months, find out how my people are and understand their social, educational, and economic status at a micro-level in Tamil Nadu. This data will fast-track the development of Tamil Nadu.

Have you discussed the caste census with your alliance party leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami? Is he on board with this idea?

Absolutely. As parties, we have our own ideologies. We have differences of opinion with the BJP on NEET, and so on. [Nevertheless], we will persevere on this subject. We have talked to him (Mr. Palaniswami) and told him that a good administrator should take up these issues.

Did you have a conversation with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin regarding this?

I met the Chief Minister four to five times personally. He said we could do it, but eventually, the coterie of four Ministers around him didn’t let it happen. Today, you have data about how many birds migrate from Serbia, Russia, and China to Vedanthangal every year. You have data on the number of stray dogs. But, you don’t have data about the social issues faced by the people of Tamil Nadu.

A decade ago, you were a bitter critic of then Chief Minister Mr. Palaniswami. Today, you back him to become the next Chief Minister. What is your assessment of Mr. Palaniswami?

Our one-point agenda is to dethrone the DMK. And for that, all like-minded parties, though with different ideologies, have come together. Mr. Palaniswami is a farmer and my party is a 90% rural party. They are farmers and toilers – not farm owners, but labourers. We took up issues during his tenure – among them is the demand to declare the Cauvery delta as Padhukagappatta Velan Mandalam (Protected Agricultural Zone), a word that I coined in 2015-16. I met Mr. Palaniswami 10 times just for this. After me, the Communists picked it up. Consequently, he (Mr. Palaniswami) passed a law [the Tamil Nadu Protected Agricultural Zone Development Act, 2020]. When he was the Chief Minister, Mr. Palaniswami provided 10.5% internal reservation to the Vanniyar community, for which we had been fighting for a very long time.

The PMK was at the peak of its power before 2011. You were a part of the Union government, and the party also had many MLAs. In the last decade-and-a-half, however, the party has struggled. How do you assess its journey during this period?

We have made mistakes in the past, one of which was committed in 2013. After the conference we had in Mahabalipuram, there were a lot of issues [Marakkanam violence]...  When we say the PMK is for social justice, it includes every community – SCs, STs, OBCs, MBCs. What has Mr. Stalin done for the SCs in the last five years? We gave a Union Minister’s post to Dalit Ezhilmalai in 1998 itself.