Why the delay in conducting caste-wise census in Tamil Nadu? What will Ambani’s investment do in Tamil Nadu? What is DMK’s background in OPS seat change? Will the BJP-AIADMK alliance come together? Is there a chance for the Tamil Nadu Life Rights Party to contest in the Lok Sabha? Will I refuse to lobby in favor of the Congress, which is part of the DMK alliance? – Tamil Nadu Life Rights Party leader Velmurugan has given us answers to many such questions. Here is his interview…
Did you ask DMK for a ‘seat’ in the Lok Sabha elections? Is there a chance to contest this Lok Sabha election?
“It is the demand of all the executives of our party to contest the Lok Sabha elections. A resolution was also passed in this regard in the State General Committee held in Salem. We have expressed our desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections to the Chief Minister. I am going to meet and talk to the Chief Minister soon. We present our request. But the DMK has the power to decide whether to contest or not. So, it is up to the chief minister to decide.”
You had expressed your displeasure with the DMK in the past. But you have said that ‘we will work in support of DMK in the Lok Sabha’. Why this double standard?
“Each coalition party has a duty to support the issues that need to be supported and to point out the issues that are causing problems for the people. But all the parties in Tamil Nadu follow the rule that they have to support everything because they are in alliance with major political parties.
I don’t do politics that passes for being in an alliance. Sometimes I raise my voice very loudly in the assembly. Further. To take it to the next level, I am trying to attract the attention of the government by holding a protest. In the DMK-led coalition, the so-called ‘companion parties’ are passing by without being pointed out. So, the question comes to me that ‘You are opposing from the DMK alliance’. I am not against DMK. The alliance should not be discredited among the people due to the plans introduced by the DMK. So, I make strong arguments every time.”
What issues have you spoken up for that the companion parties have not voiced?
“I went to the ground and fought with the people in Barandur airport expansion. But, I don’t know if the other coalition parties have taken the comments seriously like me. Similarly, when the farmers were arrested in Seyyar under the Goontar Act, I informed the Chief Minister in detail that this would cause criticism of the DMK among the farmers.
In the NLC issue as well, I fought on the ground insisting that all parties should be brought together and the outstanding compensation should be paid. Those involved in the Thoothukudi firing are in high profile in the police department. I insisted that they should be booked under Section 302 of the IPC for murder.
I staged a continuous protest in the field trying to demolish the water tank in Vengai field. However, other parties ended up with the statement. Some passed through the demonstration only on Saturdays and Sundays. In this way, if other coalition parties have expressed their opinion like me, ‘Why are you opposing it while being a coalition party?’ The question does not arise. Parties in Tamil Nadu have been following the political stance of opposition only when they are in opposition and support when they are allies. This has to be changed.”
You have said ‘support DMK, but we will not lobby in support of Congress’. Why this hatred towards Congress?
“In the last three elections, I have taken a decision not to vote for the Congress. Congress supported the genocide in Eelam. Congress acted as a vehicle to kill the Tamil people. Due to that pain it was decided not to collect votes in favor of Congress.”
Can you say that DMK has no role in the issue of Eelam Tamils?
“The DMK was the state party. It had formed an alliance with the Congress at the centre. I have registered a complaint against DMK. I have also fought against them in the past.”
Is there a chance of AIADMK reuniting with BJP..?
AIADMK has announced several times that there is no alliance with BJP. So, we will believe it.”
But the AIADMK avoids directly criticizing the BJP…
“The central government will launch a probe into their diplomats, the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department and the CBI to recruit opposition parties and allies. Predictions have been published that ‘BJP may return to power for the third time’. Therefore, the AIADMK is repressing that there should be no enmity in this environment.”
The DMK did not take any action regarding the OPS seat change in the Assembly for several months. But what is the reason for the change now??
“The seat has been allotted to Udayakumar who has been appointed as Vice President. It is within the power of the Speaker to decide where a member of the Assembly should sit. The seat has been changed based on the Chief Minister’s request. Earlier the OPS was unclear on whose side it was. Now he has formed an alliance with the BJP. So the DMK, which is against the BJP, has replaced the OPS, which is in favor with the BJP.”
The BJP has expressed its support for the resolution brought in the Legislative Assembly against the ‘constituency reorganization’… Support at the center, opposition in the state! Is it in the public interest?
“There are no BJP personalities in Tamil Nadu who have any backbone and self-respect against Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Vanathi Srinivasan also gave an ambiguous opinion in the Legislative Assembly.
The central government controls the fair number of constituencies that Tamil Nadu should get. States like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are densely populated. But in Tamil Nadu, it is not appropriate to say that we are reducing the constituencies for the reason that we are actively following the central government’s plan to control the population. Such reduction would be disastrous for democracy.”
We are talking about connecting Adani and Ambani with BJP. But the Tamil Nadu government welcomes their investment. How do you see this?
“The Tamil Nadu Life Rights Party is opposed to any party that exploits the labor of the people and gets investment from the corporate company that is fattened by the tax money of the poor people.”
Internal quota for 10.5% Vanniars has been cancelled. The Supreme Court has demanded implementation after caste-wise enumeration. But why is the DMK postponing the caste-wise census? Intentional?
“We are constantly making requests to the Chief Minister regarding this. I have also brought a special resolution in the Legislative Assembly. In Tamil Nadu, people are being denied ‘education’ and ’employment’ due to lack of caste wise census. Following Bihar, many states have announced to take caste census.
In this modern world, if the Tamil Nadu government thinks, it can take all the data within just one month. DMK is reluctant to do that. In this budget too, it has announced that ‘we will urge the central government to take a caste-wise census’. Every time the Chief Minister and the Ministers shout that ‘the DMK government will guide the policy of social justice for India’. I welcome that. We demand that a caste-wise census be conducted in Tamil Nadu to establish that social justice. But I have already raised the question that there is an intention in lowering DMK’s tenure.
The opposition parties welcome the Supreme Court’s verdict regarding the election bond. But, because of that, the opposition parties have also benefited…
“BJP has achieved 80% result. Next Congress has benefited. Other parties have also benefited. But BJP implemented this scheme with the intention of achieving this profit.
A party which is the ruling government bends the law to suit the corporate entities and gets the commission by the alias ‘Electoral Bond’. It refuses to give full details of who buys it and who gives it. This is a very bad plan. In this situation, the Supreme Court has given a historic verdict in the case filed by the Communist Party against this project.”