We will field leaders who do not consider politics livelihood, but a call of duty

We are not talking of a cosmetic but a fundamental change here. We will field leaders who do not consider politics as a source of livelihood but a call of duty. When we say we will destroy corruption, it cannot be done in a day. Because corruption has permeated from the top to the actual user of politics, the people. We will take caste out of the equation. We are not inventing this new decorum for politics. It used to be there. We lost it and we want to regain it. It is going to be difficult because the whole system is rusty. At the same time, we will not change everything. We have accommodated some of the old good ideas like Samathuvapuram (community living), farmers’ market. For what reason the previous governments have abandoned it, we really don’t understand.

Absolutely. I am not saying that I will totally do away free stuff. I want basic education, high school education to be free for all. And it should be high-quality education that a rich man would want for his child.

By giving handouts, you are making beggars out of our people. You cannot remove poverty this way. If Mahatma Gandhi had been alive today, he would have been the bitterest critic of such a thing. And where will they find the money. Give me the numbers. Convince me about the numbers.

I have been a part-time farmer. The way middlemen take away the profit is unbelievable. I grew 40 tonne of potatoes. I gave it to the smallest of vendors and said: “sell it for whatever price you can sell”. Some guy sitting in a small cubicle decides the life of a farmer. That is why farmers’ market is critical. We will have to educate farmers about the newer technology. Without which, he cannot increase production. He must understand how to use little water to produce more per drop. Farming is actually becoming scientific.

A toll is not a bad idea. But how long is a toll? It is not for life. You don’t have to pay through your life and through your nose. That is my grouse.

It is all about governance. We need to treat investors well, offer them all the facilities. The other States are doing just that. Tamil Nadu has a lot of inherent strengths but all that will go waste if we do not take care of the investors. I know of businessmen who are leaving the State and going elsewhere. A lot of people have lost their jobs.

While I respect investors, not all businessmen are angels. My anger against Sterlite is not because it is an industry. I am proud to have a copper plant that will equal those in China. But why would you do it at the cost of people’s lives? They could have built the plant a few kilometres away. Yes. It would be a little further away from the harbour but we could have laid a new railway line to make it less costly for them to transport it to their ships.

It is possible. After the Satyagraha movement, the new movement that will free India from poverty is skillset development. Today, we are making 50 lakh engineers, lawyers, doctors and half-educated engineers are not employable. Their education is just a tag. Their skills need to be ofinternational quality. I have seen it work when I was the chairman of the entertainment and media skillset development in FICCI. The MNM will steadfastly pursue skillset development.

I have a strong feeling that the people who have lived under the radar for so long are going to fly out. I think we are sitting on the cusp of a revolution. I may not be the best of politicians but will certainly be the tip of that change that we have been looking for.

The idea is not to be bound by ideologies. We have to do what is right for the people. And if you have to move towards left for that, we will. But we will correct our pose and come back to the centre. Being a centrist is, at times, very painful but the MNM is ready to climb the mountain.