The Rediff Interview/ Vazhappadi Ramamurthy

'The TMC will not come to the Congress. The TMC will remain a rival to the Congress'

The Congress is in bad shape everywhere, but in Tamil Nadu, has the TMC not taken the place of the Congress?

I am sorry. That's not the case. This is all false propaganda propagated by vested interests, like some TMC members and others who want to become TMC stooges. The emergence of the TMC and the elections results are nothing but a sheer accident.

I know their capacity. What did Moopanar do in 1977? What did he do in 1989? I know his capacity. Only because of the DMK, could he do all this. What is the TMC but his faction, the people surrounding him?

AICC lawyer R M Mittal told the Jain Commission that Mr Karunanidhi and V P Singh were responsible for harboring the LTTE and allowing the LTTE to have a free hand in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere. This culminated in the assassination of Mr Rajiv Gandhi. What does Moopanar say about this? Will he agree with the argument, or will he oppose it?

Do you think a revival in the Congress party's fortunes is possible?

In Tamil, there is a proverb. Even when an elephant lies down, it is taller than a horse. The Congress is like that. Whether we are disillusioned or not, we have our own traditional voters. Only thing is, last time the Congress had this very bad strategy of going with Jayalalitha.

During that period, you were bitterly against her. Recently, it was reported that you visited her when she returned from jail.

Now I feel Jayalalitha is the best hope.

Even after all that has happened?

Yes. Yes. What happened in the Pudukkottai by-election? You tell me. We politicians are also using the same yard stick. In the general election, the AIADMK was humiliated and scored only 24% of votes. Immediately after that, in the local body elections, it went up to 30%. It went even further in the Pudukkottai election.

So, you have softened your stand against her.

No. It's all politics. We don't want to be saints. In elections, we have to win seats.

Don't you think people might look at it in another way? Just a few years ago, you were against her and now...

What happened to the DMK and the Sarkaria Commission? What happened to the Rajiv Gandhi assassination and the DMK? Now what is Moopanar harbouring? What is Chidambaram saying at the Jain Commission? I talked like that then (against Jayalalitha). It is different now.

You mean people will forget all that.

See, people's memory is so short. It is so short.

Did you two talk politics?

No. I was a true friend to her once but became an enemy later on. (Laughs) After the elections, I felt sympathetic towards her. That was one reason why I met her. Then, I wanted to invite her for my son's marriage. We didn't talk politics at all.

Why did you become an enemy?

Because of her way of functioning.

Why do you feel sympathetic now? Do you feel the DMK is being vindictive towards her?

I will say, yes. A day has come when a person, whether he was a minister or a chief minister, will go behind bars if they lose elections. This trend has been set by Mr Karunanidhi.

Do you think the people of Tamil Nadu have also started feeling sympathetic towards her?

You saw that in the Pudukottai and local body elections. I said, the TMC will not come back to the Congress, likewise, I also predict that the AIADMK will capture power in the next election.

So you feel that only an alliance with Jayalalitha will work against the DMK-TMC alliance.

That is the only workable solution. That is the only viable solution. Only that is going to enhance the prestige of the Congress.

You mean, the alliance is for the betterment of the Congress?

Yes, for the betterment of the Congress. Never in the history of Congress, has Tamil Nadu not sent at least one MP to Parliament. This time we have not sent a single MP.

Who is responsible for this plight?

I will squarely blame only Mr Narasimha Rao. Another reason is untimely strategy.

You mean Mr Rao is solely responsible, and nobody else?

I can blame only Mr Rao. I cannot blame the Congress. The Congress as a party is very good, but handled badly by personalities like Mr Rao and others.

Why did you rejoin the Congress even when Mr Rao was there? You left because of a disagreement with him.

What I had been advocating about Rao's leadership came true after the election. I am not bothered whether he is there or not.

You were one of Rao's strongest critics. Do you see any future for him now?

In politics, you cannot say whether somebody will come back or not. It is so very uncertain. Who would have thought that Mr Karunanidhi would become chief minister again in 1996? His party had only one seat in the assembly the last time. All these political changes are because of the people's wishes. We can't predict anything.

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