Senior AIADMK leader and former Minister D. Jayakumar, who was arrested in three cases, including an incident of manhandling during the recent local bodies elections, is out on conditional bail. In an interview with The Hindu over the phone from Tiruchi, he alleged that the DMK government was intolerant, and had arrested him as a warning to the AIADMK. He also spoke about his party’s poor show in the urban civic polls. Excerpts.
The AIADMK attributed political motives to your arrest. How do you justify this charge?
Certainly, it is political vendetta. Any elected government should tolerate criticism made against it, and it is evident that there is no freedom of expression. I have been quite vocal in my criticism of various electoral assurances, which have not been implemented by the DMK government. I have nothing personal against him [Chief Minister M.K. Stalin]. I have only been making criticisms politically. Like what former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai said about cup and saucer [He likened the Legislative Assembly and the Council to a cup and saucer], we need to balance it. But this government does not have tolerance. The DMK government has only two motives - none should criticise them, and they will continue doing whatever they are doing. There is no productive action. My arrest is only an act of political revenge.
As a former Law Minister, was it appropriate for you to have taken the law into your hands and forced a man [suspected of booth rigging] to remove his shirt and parade him on the street?
I did not have any mala fide intention against him. He is an anti-social element, facing several cases including chain snatching and stealing bikes and dealing in ‘one number’ lottery. He was into booth rigging, which will kill democracy. Though I am a former Minister who has held various posts, as a district secretary, I need to protect my party’s interests. How can we keep watching when someone is involved in illegality? I don’t know him personally, but since there are many cases against him, we should not let him harm others. Also, we did not parade him; we only handed him over to the police. Though he threw stones at the police, instead of taking action against him, they foisted cases against me. Even the other case was political. The charge of land grab is basically wrong. They are thinking that my arrest should be a warning to my party. But I will establish my position legally, and dharmam will win.
The AIADMK faced a humiliating defeat in the recent urban local bodies polls. Why has the party lost support even in its traditional strongholds such as western and southern Tamil Nadu?
We cannot use the local bodies polls to assess the strength and reach of a party, because unlike the Assembly elections, when the Election Commission of India conducts the polls, the local bodies elections are conducted by the State Election Commission, which is clearly a puppet of the ruling party. As I said regarding rigging and booth capture [by the suspect], there have been malpractices. In T. Kallupatti, it was established in the court that the Returning Officer had acted under the immense pressure exerted on him [and declared a DMK candidate elected]. We can only imagine in how many places such incidents occurred. So, we cannot use local bodies elections as a yardstick for [measuring] our strength. We polled over 1.46 crore votes during the Assembly election. Wait for the [2024] parliamentary election, and you will see our rise. We have always risen powerfully after every loss.
The BJP has exited the AIADMK alliance. Will there be a revival of ties, considering that the BJP has supposedly gained more from the alliance?
It [the alliance between the AIADMK and the BJP] was there yesterday. It is not there today. About tomorrow, my party leadership will decide. It is a policy decision. We cannot say one party gained more because every party has its own votes. Even the PMK and the DMDK had been with us in the past. You and I know how many votes the BJP, the AIADMK or any other party has. Our seat-sharing agreement will be based on that. My party’s leadership will decide these matters at the appropriate time.
Is the dual leadership of the AIADMK an obstruction to its growth?
All these criticisms came up after our Amma’s [Jayalalithaa] death. These are only small issues in a big party like the AIADMK. We have faced several such problems in the past, but we overcame them. As long as we have the legacy of ‘Puratchi Thalaivar’ (M.G. Ramachandran) and ‘Puratchi Thalaivi’ Amma and the legendary ‘Two Leaves’ symbol, there is no end to our party.
Some voices within the AIADMK still favour Jayalalithaa’s aide V.K. Sasikala. A demand for her re-entry came even from the farm house of party coordinator O. Panneerselvam. Is the party divided on Ms. Sasikala?
She had herself said she will step aside [from politics]. The current situation also shows that. It would not have any major impact on our party. How can you say that we are divided when we have clearly acted against his [O. Panneerselvam’s] brother over his meeting with her? We have expelled him, and he [Mr. Panneerselvam] has not said anything openly about it.
What do you think is the way forward for the AIADMK?
Our future is bright because people can now see that the DMK is unable to implement its electoral assurances. The DMK’s failure in this regard will only help us.
