Tamil Nadu will work with Centre but resist ‘unfair’ delimitation, says TVK minister

Chennai: The newly-elected Tamil Nadu government will cooperate with the Centre for the state's benefit but will firmly oppose the BJP-led central government on matters like delimitation, newly sworn-in minister and core TVK member, KG Arunraj, told ET in an exclusive interaction.

Arunraj is a former IRS officer who was among the nine ministers in the new Cabinet who took oath on Sunday. "TVK stands for cooperative federalism," he said. "While we continue to emphasise on the rights of states, we want to have close coordination between the Union and state. We will work with the Union wherever necessary to make Tamil Nadu stronger," he said.

However, he said that when it comes to matters like delimitation, the party's stance was clear -- it was a 'biased' move aimed to punish states that have followed population control norms.


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"We opposed delimitation and our stance will continue to be in line with what our leader said because it is unfair to the southern states," Arunraj said.

The party's general secretary for policy and propaganda said TVK was firmly rooted in Dravidian ideology, rationalist thinking and secular social justice.

"The people of Tamil Nadu have chosen the path of Periyar who stood for rationalism," he said. "We fought this election based on our policies and our vision for Tamil Nadu, whereas the other parties fought this election solely based on their money power. So, true to the word of Periyar, people have made a very rational decision and they have chosen our party and our leader."

He emphasised that people have not rejected Dravidian ideology by backing TVK but rather see through the false ideology that other parties try to pass off as genuine Dravidian ideology.

"Ideologically, there is not much difference between our ideology and that of the DMK," Arunraj said. "So, people have not rejected Dravidian ideology. They have just rejected those who practice pseudo-Dravidianism. Periyar stood for secularism and social justice which is our foundation. So, the other parties were projecting Periyar but were not following his word and were indulging in all sorts of malpractices."

He said the two pillars of the TVK were the chief minister's charisma and the party's ideological framework because he believed that without ideology no political force can exist in Tamil Nadu.

Arunraj said he was confident of the party delivering on all its poll promises. He said the party was against "communal fascist tendencies" and that is what gave them credibility and support from other alliance partners.

"Our leader spoke about this (delivering on poll promises) during the oath-taking ceremony," he said. "He said that we will implement policies step by step. We will come up with a white paper on the present fiscal status in Tamil Nadu. Once we know that, we will plan accordingly. We need some time but we are very sincere and honest in our intent."

Also Read: Vijay's TVK passes floor test in Tamil Nadu Assembly with 144 votes in favour

He said the government already has its priorities in place on what it would focus on. First would be law and order, then handling the drug menace, women's safety, providing basic needs to the poor and preparing a developmental roadmap for the state. He said the government will focus on attracting investments and furthering the state's industries.

"Our leader has promised a proper pro-business atmosphere with a human touch," Arunraj said. "So, not just mere (policy) continuity, there will be better ease of doing business."