Exclusive: 'Stalin does not fit even half an inch in Karunanidhi's shoes'

You have been with the BJP for some time now. How different is the party dynamic from your earlier political affiliation, the Congress?

It (BJP) is very different because it is very honest and transparent. There is no pretentious outlook. They are not fake and most importantly, they definitely do mean to work for the country. 

How confident are you about BJP's performance in Tamil Nadu?

I am very very confident, the way people have been out on the street, the way they see the enthusiasm. There was a time where we couldn't see BJP anywhere in Tamil Nadu. BJP's Tamil Nadu unit was not part of any debate. BJP was not considered as a force where we need to have a representative, BJP Tamil Nadu was not big enough for Opposition leaders to even speak about it in the same breath. Today, there are lakhs of people out on the streets. Whenever you have Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) or Amit Shah coming here for a meeting, thousands of people are out on the streets. During every event, be it any yatra or public meeting. I think today in every debate, you will have a BJP representative and any debate is not complete without mentioning the BJP. The opposition leaders are forced to mention BJP. They think it is definitely the right time now to speak about BJP as they look at us as an opposition party.

It was reported that you will be pitted against DMK youth wing leader Udayanidhi Stalin? What do you have to say, are you prepared to contest? 

I don't know where I am contesting. I don't even know if I am contesting. There are only 20 seats that have been confirmed (allotted to BJP) right now. We are unaware of which constituencies those are. So let's not jump. As far as the party is concerned I am confident about myself and the party and wherever the party asks me to contest from I will, irrespective of who is on the opposite side. Even if it is Udhayanidhi Stalin (Opposition leader MK Stalin's son), most welcome. It's not about who is the winner and loser. It's about giving a tough fight. Why can't she (Kushboo) create magic and take away the thunder from them? 

Times are changing and people are changing, mindsets are changing. How long can we go along with the same DMK in one area despite knowing that nothing has been done? One very simple example is that of 'Swachch Bharat'. In the constituency that I am in charge of (Chepauk and Triplicane), DMK's MLA ruled for 10 years in that area. We do not have J Anbazhagan among us now. So I am not going to blame him but I will definitely blame the party and ask you what have to do. The area is not clean. You do not have water coming into every house. You don't have roads laid properly. You do not have service lanes. You do not have ration cards. You do not have any facilities. You do not have properly functioning toilets. And there are so many schemes which are brought in by the central government which helps the people live in a clean environment with dignity. But just because it was brought in by the central government, the DMK has made sure they have not worked on those lines at all. 

I am not talking about Chepauk and Triplicane alone. I am also speaking about Stalin who has been an MLA for the last ten years from his constituency Kolathur. Even there you have the same problem. One rain and there is a slush all over. One rain, then you have water clogging. One rain, you have a drainage problem. So this is a persistent problem in two major localities I am talking about in Tamil Nadu where you have the DMK chief who is an MLA for the last ten years in one constituency and you have DMK rule in Chepauk, Triplicane where I am in charge of. I am not even going to the other 234 constituencies that Stalin wants to capture. Please give us details about what you have done in your own constituency and other DMK constituencies. You have done nothing.

Some surveys indicate that BJP and alliance partner AIADMK may bite the dust in the election, what is your take on this? 

See what happened when they spoke about the 2019 election. They said (some surveys and opposition) with so much of problem, GST, demonetization and other issues. You had the farmers' problem in 2018. And you said no way BJP is going to come back in 2019 and today you have BJP which is the single largest party in the world. 

The same thing happened in 2016. They (surveys and opposition) said AIADMK cannot come back to power. Historically, during the election people of Tamil Nadu never votes to power the same party back to back. And, trust me, nobody except for one exit poll... nobody said that AIADMK is going to come back to power. But we had Jayalalithaa coming back to power. So these (polls survey) are the people who are going to change. Time keeps changing, patterns keep changing. 

Sasikala has announced political retirement and pitched AIADMK cadres to vote for the ruling government for another term. How far do you think this will benefit? 

I don't know how far it will benefit, but it was a very good and smart decision by VK Sasikala. See the basic point is, whether it is AMMK or anybody from AIADMK or the NDA alliance, one has to make sure that the hand-in-glove looting party of DMK-Congress does not come back to power. And for that, if she says 'I (Sasikala) quit politics because I don't want to split and I would urge my workers to support AIADMK and the alliance to make sure DMK and alliances get defeated', I welcome her decision and I would say it is a very, very wise decision.

On what issues is the Tamil Nadu BJP focussing on this election?

Basically, we are going to focus on what we have done all over the country. Tamil Nadu has benefited from the number of schemes and policies brought in by the BJP government at the Centre; the maximum beneficiary has been Tamil Nadu. 

We offer a transparent government; it is there for the people. How much has been given for education, for women, for farmers... 'Jan Dhan Yojana', gas policy... When you talk about fisheries, Metro, National Highways, the upcoming port in Kanyakumari and all the benefits that Tamil Nadu gained from the central government. In Bengaluru, you have a BJP government, has four universities but in Tamil Nadu, you have 11 universities in six years of AIADMK government. We have been insisting on education, insisting on women's safety. We are going to ask for votes showing what we have done for the people.

How comfortable is a national party like BJP to playing the second fiddle to a regional party like AIADMK?

We have always maintained that it is an NDA alliance. In Tamil Nadu, we will be with the biggest party and that is the AIADMK. So we are with them. It's not about playing second fiddle or third fiddle. I think the idea of all NDA allies is to make sure that we come to power and continue the good governance that we have been giving to the people.

Senior BJP leader CT Ravi, in interaction with Asianet Newsable, said that unlike previous elections, this time there was no personality cult in the equation. What are your views on the matter?

Yes! For the first time in the history of Tamil Nadu, we are going to see an election without a tall leader like Jayalalithaa, we are going to see an election without a great leader Dr Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi). It's an acid test for Stalin, it is an acid test for Edappadi Palanisamy too. 

But I think Stalin is going to fall too short to fit into his father's shoes. They are very very large in which he (Stalin) does not fit in even half an inch in those shoes. Whereas when you look at Edappadi Palanisamy, people were sceptical about him about how he is going to prove himself, whether he will find a foothold for himself independently. Four years later, when you look at the growth chart as chief minister, it has grown tremendously. 

I think he (EPS) has come on his own. He has proved that he is capable of taking the state forward. There is absolutely no scam in his government. Yes, the allegation will be there -- that's the duty of the opposition to say that there has been a scam and misdeeds. It's the democratic right of the opposition to say whatever they have to say. But you need to prove this allegation right? And that way, the chief minister is much ahead of Stalin.

How has the BJP gained ground in Tamil Nadu? How many seats do you think the BJP can garner this election?

See we have not been greedy and told (AIADMK) to give us 35 to 40 seats. We have stuck to 20 seats. We are happy with that and our whole criteria is to win all the 20 seats. We are working hard for that.

Some Muslims leaders may influence voters to vote against BJP and may also take your personal life of marrying a Hindu, to cut votes. What do you have to say to such people? 

Stop playing communal politics, stop playing with religion and bringing it into politics during the time of elections. When has BJP ever said that it is against Muslims? My question to all opposition leaders and the parties who keep saying that BJP is only about Hinduism, are they telling me when BJP came back to power in 2019 with 300 MPs single-handedly, did people from the minority community not vote for the Prime Minister? Did only Hindus vote for the BJP?

Congress was completely wrong in denying women their rights, be it the case of Triple Talaq or the Shah Bano case during Rajiv Gandhi's regime. Here we have a Prime Minister who is accused of playing the communal game over women's rights (bringing triple talaq law) and for the abolishment of Triple Talaq. 

People from the Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh have built a temple for Prime Minister Modi. A family in Uttar Pradesh have named their son Damodardas Modi and named after Prime Minister Modi. So this is the kind of love for the prime minister being garnered from Muslim communities. And what is this the Opposition is trying to say (creating fear among Muslims about getting thrown out of India)? Please tell me one Muslim who was thrown out of the country in the last six years. They don't have the answer to that.

What is your take on the internal battles in Congress vis a vis the G-23 openly calling for reforms?

You know that is what sets you thinking. I think now people understand why I came out of Congress. This internal politics that we have been talking about is now out in the open for everyone to see. I was courageous enough that I did not want to be a part of this groupism and internal politics. 

When you cannot keep your house in order, how are you going to keep the state or the country in order? When you do not have people respecting the leadership, how you think the people are going to respect the leader who does not have the vision? And where is the leader in the Congress? Is Rahul Gandhi the leader? No, he is one of the 51 MPs of the Congress, that's it. He refuses to take up the responsibilities of the leader. So why push him to do it. 

I am glad these 23 senior leaders had the courage to speak the truth. Unfortunately and very sadly the Congress does not have the courage to accept the truth.