The Rediff Interview/Vazhappadi Ramamurthy

'By giving support to the United Front, the Congress was committing suicide every day'

The image of the Congress is that of a corrupt party.

You tell me which party is above all this. The BJP? The Janata Dal? The DMK? The TMC? This is the era of corruption.I think this is the first time the country is facing this kind of exposure. We have to go through this for some more time.

But it has resulted in frustration among ordinary people. They have lost faith in the system.

I can't agree. In a democracy, you have to go through all these kinds of transitional periods.

For the first time corrupt people are being charge sheeted and sent to jail. Is it a good trend?

What I want to suggest is, filing a chargesheet and framing the charges are not the end...

They should be punished?

Yes, they should be punished like it happened in Seoul. Otherwise, I will not say this man is corrupt and that man is not. Another thing is I feel the press is over-reacting to these corruption charges. Suppose something is being charged against me today and papers highlight it like Ramamurthy has amassed wealth, he is corrupt, etc, etc, and after six years, if it were found to be untrue, can I regain the prestige which I lost?

The press should also be responsible to society. If you want, you can damage me tomorrow, but I can't do anything to you. But if I am chargesheeted and punished, you hang me in the streets, I am not against it.

Some political analysts predict that the way things are going for the Congress, the next election might be the last election for the party.

I am sorry. It is an immature way of looking at the democratic set-up by an immature mind. This is all I can say. Our democracy is only 50 years old. Even 300-year-old democracies are passing through such periods.

I am not talking about the country. I am talking about the Congress.

Don't worry, don't worry. In the next general election I am sure the Congress will capture more seats than it has now. Take it from me.

How will it happen?

Because, at the national scene, it is either the Congress or the BJP. All these Johnnies will not be there. I repeat all these Johnnies will not be there. In the last election, the corruption of Jayalalitha was highlighted and the Congress also suffered. If the choice is between the Congress and the BJP, definitely the people will vote only for the Congress.

What do you say about the United Front experiment?

I cannot agree more than with what Biju Patnaik has said: It is a bundle of contradictions. This is an opportunistic alliance. By giving support to the United Front, the Congress was committing suicide every day. We should not have given support to this unfortunate and immature alliance. What is Deve Gowda doing? In Delhi, every day two murders are being committed. Delhi, the capital of India, has become the capital of murders.

What should the Congress have done after the BJP government fell at the Centre?

I agree that there would not have been a better understanding than this. But they should have had a hold on the UF to say, this is wrong and if you are going to pursue it, we will withdraw our support. What about the Budget? It is only for one per cent of the population. This is the Budget of the elite, the Budget of industrialists and multinationals. What will it give this country, you tell me.

Do you feel a young, dynamic person can change the sagging image of the Congress?

We are advocating this every time, but it is not happening.

And every time you are getting older and older people.

See, our party is 112 years old. (Laughs loudly.) So, we will have at least people who are less than hundred. Take even the DMK which is around 50 years old; Karunanidhi is 72. We are 112 and Kesri is 82. Fair, isn't' it?

Let me tell you something. The only hope for the Congress is the Nehru family. Even after ten years also, I will say the same thing. If Soniaji becomes the Congress president, I see a very bright and better future for the Congress.

Why are you advocating dynastic rule?

It is not dynastic rule. Just tell me who has dominated who. When Nehru died, there was Shastri and then Indiraji. Did she not face the electorate? When Indira Gandhi died, Rajiv Gandhi was elected. He immediately conducted an election. How can you say it was dynastic rule? This is democracy.

The political scene is our country is different from other countries. Only charismatic leaders can capture political power. If may be Vajpayee, Advani, Kanshi Ram , Karunanidhi or Jayalalitha. Likewise, the future of the Congress is with the Nehru family. The only available hand now is Sonia.

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