Party is greater and nobler than my family: Karunanidhi

Muthuvel Karunanidhi, 92, says the DMK represents a self-respect movement and a political culture that values human rights. He believes the people of Tamil Nadu have placed their faith in him for 60 years “and they are sure that I will fulfil what I say.” In an exclusive interview to TOI, he said the allegations of corruption against him by “a person”, who had been punished by a court and made to resign twice as CM, had no moral backing.
You belong to a rare breed of leaders who has been elected chief minister five times and are now aiming to become CM for the sixth time.You’ve been campaigning extensively across the state in a van at this age. What keeps you going, what are you keen to achieve this time?
It is my focus on continuous service to Tamil, Tamils and Tamil Nadu. I never get tired because these three fully occupy my mind. I will not cease to work till I see the full advancement of Tamil, good prosperity of Tamils and remarkable growth of Tamil Nadu.
TN politics used to be personality-driven, with voters swayed by personalities at the helm. But today, there is a deeper shift; issues such as development, welfare, prohibition, corruption are dominating. Do you think we in TN are at the threshold of an era in which the opposition will play a significant role?
I am always of the view that dissent is the essence of democracy. Democracy will not flourish without the significant role of the opposition. Unlike AIADMK, we respect opposition parties, allow them to have their view and take into account their viewpoints.
The state has a political culture of vendetta. Rival leaders do not meet or see eye to eye in the assembly. Will you try to bring about a change if you win and give opposition leaders their due?
We stand for mutual political culture. Ours is a self-respect movement. While we are maintaining our self-respect without allowing it to be hurt by anyone, we always honour the self-respect of others. We have a very deep faith in human rights. As you know, political culture is not a one-way traffic. All the parties should have equal commitment to political culture.
Sale of liquor remains a major source of income for the state exchequer. If you win and bring in total prohibition at one stroke, how would you implement the expensive welfare schemes envisaged in your electoral manifesto and where would you get the money from?
Sources of revenue to implement schemes enumerated in the DMK manifesto in the absence of liquor income have been indicated in the manifesto. Please see page 59 of the manifesto (To stop malpractices in mining and generate more employment opportunities, the DMK manifesto proposes a PPP model to employ two lakh youth. Each PPP unit would be involved in mining or trading of sand, granite and rare earth minerals. The youth would invest an amount not less than Rs 50,000 each in a unit and government would provide a matching share from a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore.)
While there is talk of prohibition of liquor as a solution to social evils, many underlying problems remain unaddressed like unemployment, gender bias, and social tensions. Why is that?
I have, a number of times, explained that DMK is not merely a political party, it is also a social movement. We have always been tackling social evils. To solve the problem of unemployment to a great extent, we have indicated a number of schemes in our manifesto. You know, we have always been against gender bias. Our constructive stand on social tensions is well-known.
During her campaign, Jayalalithaa called you the father-figure of a clan steeped in corruption and the leader of a party which is corrupt. Do you think your personal appeal remains high despite the AIADMK supremo repeatedly targeting you?
Whoever targets me, people of Tamil Nadu will always listen to me as they have been doing for the last 60 years and they are sure that I will fulfil what I say. Before making any promise, I think a number of times ... my words come from the depth of my heart and hence they are sincere and honest. A person, who has been punished by the special court to undergo imprisonment for four years and to pay a fine of hundred crores of rupees in the disproportionate assets case and who had to twice resign and go out of the office of the chief minister as her holding the office was unconstitutional, has no moral backing to find fault with me.
DMK was founded in Chennai and the city remained one of its bastions for a long time, even during the MGR years. But AIADMK has gained ground in your citadel with 2, 7 and 11 seats in the last three polls respectively. Why did this happen?
Gaining ground or losing ground in a particular centre is not a permanent feature for any political party, as people’s preferences change from time to time. Ultimately the reason lies with the people.
In this multi-cornered contest, what do you think are your party’s strengths?
Our party’s prospects are brighter for the simple reason that there is a silent anti-incumbency mood, which will go largely in favour of the DMK and that other opposition parties will eat into the vote-bank of AIADMK and the DMK is forging ahead as the next ruling party.
The vote share of DMK has remained stagnant and not increased since 2006. Poll statistics suggest that you haven’t made inroads beyond a traditional base. The vote share which was 30.92% in 2001, fell to 26.46% in 2006 and 22.39% in 2011. Why was that?
As I said earlier, the vote share of a party is not a constant factor. This time our vote share will go up considerably. It will certainly cross 2001 mark.
This is the first election in a long time that most small parties preferred to maintain a distance from DMK before the polls. There are many reasons cited for DMK not being able to strike a pre-poll seat-sharing arrangement with them. Did it happen because they demanded more seats or was it because DMK’s hold was perceived to be weakening?
Both reasons are incorrect. Most small parties did not fall in line for various personal reasons.
DMK has been reiterating its stand that it is not in favour of a coalition government. But what if DMK falls short of numbers to form a government on its own? Which are the parties which you think may be willing to align with you in a postpoll arrangement?
I don’t want to answer a presumptive question. We will get a very comfortable majority of seats.
In your previous tenure, there were allegations that your family members were interfering in the functioning of the government. How do you intend to deal with this problem if DMK is elected to power this time?
The allegations are artificial. I have a family and I have been affectionate to my family members. My party is greater and nobler than my family. I have never allowed my family to interfere with my party or with the functioning of the government. My family members have their own pursuits and they grow according to their individual efficiency and hard work in which I have no say.
In a recent interview, you said that in politics nothing moves within a set time frame. The dynamics of the past, present and future decide everything. Has your party kept pace with the social changes the state has seen in the last decade?
The DMK has always been keeping pace with social change. The DMK is resilient.