Anbumani is agent of change: S Ramadoss

The PMK has the support of 70 per cent of voters and will get over 200 seats. Anbumani will do what Arvind Kejriwal did in Delhi, says party founder Dr S Ramadoss. In an interview with E.T.B. Sivapriyan, Ramadoss says today’s youth feel that PMK is the only party that can provide good governance and implement prohibition in Tamil Nadu. Excerpts:
 
Q What is PMK’s agenda this Assembly election?

 The main agenda is to overthrow the two Dravidian parties who have ruled the State for 50 years. All that these parties did in the past five decades was to distribute freebies, make people get addicted to liqour and create cinema craze.  Anbumani has spelt out his vision for the State with promise of quality education, health care and better transport facilities. The PMK government would ensure that a child from the lower strata of society also gets the kind of education that is available to children of Ambanis. US President Barack Obama ran his campaign with just three words — Yes, We can and I say Yes, Anbumani can.
 
Q This is the first time in 20 years PMK is contesting Assembly elections without an alliance. What forced this decision?
 
The party’s first electoral test was in 1989 when we scored 6.7 per cent votes in Lok Sabha polls. In 1996, we contested alone and won four Assembly seats. But, later we began aligning with AIADMK and DMK. In hindsight, I feel it was a wrong decision. If PMK had not aligned with these parties, it would have been fighting this election as a ruling party seeking to retain power. But, in 2012 we decided to contest elections on our own or lead a coalition of like-minded parties. In February 2015, the party ratified the decision and announced Anbumani as Chief Ministerial candidate.
 
Q When even major political parties/alliance in Tamil Nadu hesitate to face elections by announcing a Chief Ministerial candidate, how did PMK muster courage to do so?
 
We thought it is time to go to people’s court directly. We are pretty clear that Tamil Nadu cannot progress unless these two parties are thrown out of power. The only achievement of these parties is converting Tamil Nadu into a 'kudikaara  naadu’ (State of drunkards). Both parties are deep-rooted in corruption. While J. Jayalalithaa had to step down as Chief Minister twice (in 2002 and 2014) due to corruption cases, the 2G spectrum case is hanging like a Damocles sword over the DMK. This has created a political vacuum in the State and we are the only party capable of filling the void.  
 
Q Why do you think people will vote for PMK and Anbumani?
 
They will vote for Anbumani for the simple reason that he is a performing politician. For the past one year, people have been hearing only two things – change and progress – from him. ‘Neutral voters’ who had been keeping away from elections so far terming politics 'sewage’ are now supporting him. Youngsters want him as Chief Minister as they feel he has a vision for the State and feel he would introduce reforms in education and health sector. And more importantly, Anbumani’s clear stand against liquor has made him popular among women. So they have decided to give him a chance. People see Anbumani as an agent of change. Change is what people of Tamil Nadu need at this stage.
 
Q Anbumani Ramadoss is just 47 and he has been announced as Chief Ministerial candidate. Is it a good decision in the long run?
 
At the age of 35, Anbumani Ramadoss took over as Health Minister and he became the first Union Minister to receive international awards for his performance. Even the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a public gathering that Anbumani has achieved in five years what other Ministers could not do in 50 years. Only based on his rich experience and track record, we decided to introduce him as the party’s Chief Ministerial candidate.
 
Q You say Anbumani Ramadoss will be the CM. Where does this confidence stem from?
 
Anbumani Ramadoss has the support of neutral voters who constitute 20 per cent, youth who comprise 25 per cent of votes and 25 per cent of women votes. The PMK has the support of 70 per cent of voters and we would get more than 200 seats. When BJP can win 282 seats in Lok Sabha polls with just 31 per cent of votes, why can’t we win more than 200 seats since we have the support of 70 per cent of electorate? I am not exaggerating. This is what happened in Delhi. Tamil Nadu would see a repeat of Delhi where Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP won 67 seats leaving only three to BJP. People want good governance, not freebies.  
 
Q But, opinion polls still say the fight is only between AIADMK and DMK. What is your response?
 
These are not opinion polls, they are paid polls. Opinion polls have gone haywire in the past. It will be proved once again this election.
 
Q Who will be the runner-up this elections if PMK emerges victorious?
 
The DMK, because AIADMK’s chapter will end this elections. And there is severe scarcity of knowledge in DMK. It has been proved from the fact that the party has copied 42 points from PMK’s draft manifesto which was released in September 2015.
 
Q Is prohibition ever feasible with neighbouring States still selling liqour?
 
Bihar Government implementing prohibition is the answer to your question. Despite all odds, Bihar has implemented complete prohibition and Kerala too is committed to ban liqour. In our manifesto we have spoken in detail about our prohibition policy. All that is needed for implementation of prohibition is political courage and we posses that.
 
Q Prohibition has become a central issue this election. What do you say about the opinion of political parties, especially DMK and AIADMK on the issue?
 
Both these parties started speaking about prohibition only after Anbumani announced that his first signature as CM would be to implement total prohibition. I have been fighting for this for the past 36 years. Karunanidhi was CM when prohibition was removed from Tamil Nadu in 1971 and AIADMK government gave away education to private sector and began selling liqour. While DMK is confused about its prohibition policy, saying it would enact a new law. All that is needed to implement prohibition is a Government Order. Jayalalithaa has promised a staggered prohibition only due to fear of losing women’s votes. This is an election stunt. People will never believe these parties.
 
Q Large amounts of money are being seized from across the state and what is your opinion about money for vote?
 
The Election Commission says it has recovered Rs 4 crore or Rs 5 crore. We have to add one zero or two zeros to that sum. Officials are not saying the truth. The stark reality in Tamil Nadu is both parties – DMK and AIADMK — distribute money to voters. They don’t garner votes, in fact, they buy them.