The Rediff Interview /G K Moopanar

'We came together to save secularism not because we wanted to be in power'

Saturday, 11 am. G Karupaiah Moopanar's home in Madras. When Shobha Warrier arrived to interview him for Rediff On The NeT, the Tamil Maanila Congress leader was in a very jovial mood. He answered questions on the fate of the Congress, the life of the United Front government, the alliance with the DMK, clearly and confidently.

When his attention was drawn to the threats issued by senior Congress leader K Karunakaran, Moopanar said, "they may withdraw support. But nobody wants an election so soon."

That was on the 29th. In the evening on the 30th, the Congress withdraws support to the United Front and an agitated Moopanar meets the press at his home to announce that the Front's constituents would stay together. In a day's time, the political scenario had changed and as Moopanar -- who is now being spoken of as a compromise candidate for the prime ministership -- says, "it is going to be a numbers game now." Excerpts from the interview:

Is it good for the country to have post-election alliances and adjustments like it has happened now?

Whether it is good for the country or not, it became a necessity now. It is true that it would have been much more smooth, if we had pre-election adjustments. (In the case of pre-election adjustments) Better understanding will be there, better compromises will be there and you can run the show very well. Here, there are a lot of problems because of the post-election understanding. It was a necessity then for all those who opposed each other to come together. All these parties opposed each other, didn't they?

Is it not an opportunistic alliance?

It cannot be opportunistic. How do you say it is opportunistic? We came together to save secularism not because we wanted to be in power. There is a principle behind all these parties coming together. Everybody felt secularism should be saved, and communalism should not be allowed to rise. That was the main reason. You call it anti-BJP. You can call it that too. But it is not anti-BJP, it is for secular India that we came together.

It was reported that at a recent press conference, you spoke of the BJP and Congress coming together.

I didn't say that. What I said was, if you want stability alone, let the BJP and Congress come together. Only then you will have stability. I was talking about numbers, arithmetic. In the numbers game, if they come together, there will be a stable government. But how it is possible, I do not know. It is not possible.

These days, arithmetic, the numbers game has become more important than party ideology. Is it a good sign?

That's why we came together. But one thing. I will tell you, in the future, it will not be a one party government at the Centre. That's my feeling now. Hereafter, we will have only coalition governments.

At the Centre, that will become a necessity. But in the future, it is better to have an understanding before the election and fight the election together and form the government than coming together after the election. If we can work out something like that, there is nothing like it.

Now that we have started it, if we can successfully run this government, it is possible for us to come together again also. See, there is one in Kerala and it is the model.

Do you think this government will last five years?

I want it to last. I wish it lasts. It is a challenge from the common man to see whether politicians can adjust among themselves, sit together and do something. We have come together based on some ideology and principle.

The other day, Congress leader K Karunakaran said this government will not last.

That is the feeling of the Congress. The general feeling is also that, I agree. When so many parties come together, that too after the election, they feel that it will not continue for long. Who expected this government to last this long? Nobody expected it. Everybody thought we will have to face an election in six months time. We have crossed all those things and we are nearing one year now. We have crossed the Chandra Shekhar mark, and we are crossing the V P Singh mark. (Laughs.)

But now somebody from the Congress is talking about this government not lasting long. It will be important because you are functioning with their support from outside. Do you feel that when they are ready for an election, they will withdraw support?

Possible. When they are ready, they may do it. But it all depends on the party's stand, how they want to go about it, what they want and all that. It is not an easy decision to take. Because nobody wants an election now. Forget about the parties, even individual MPs -- nobody wants an election now, so early.

Suppose the Congress withdraws support and a possibility of an election arises, is there a possibility of all Congressmen coming together, including the TMC?

It is a hypothetical question. How can we say about the future? As things stand, we are running the show now. What will happen in the future is a different matter. When an election is forced on the electorate, there has to be some pre-election talks. I can't say who all will come together then. It has to be seen. It is not such an easy thing.

Wouldn't it be better if all Congressmen come together? After all, you are all Congressmen.

The Congress is the only party which can claim some sort of support in each and every village in India as a national party. But they are coming down, sliding down. It is for them to stop the slide now. But it is not happening.

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