Karnataka cannot build Mekedatu dam without Tamil Nadu’s nod: Annamalai

Kongu Nadu is not on the table, he said

Former Karnataka-cadre IPS officer K Annamalai is the new poster boy of Tamil Nadu BJP after being appointed as its president.

In an interview with DH’s ETB Sivapriyan, Annamalai says Karnataka cannot build a reservoir in Mekedatu across Cauvery without the permission of Tamil Nadu. He also spoke on his appointment, the challenges for BJP in the state, and the future of BJP’s alliance with the AIADMK. Edited excerpts:

Q: You have not even completed a year in BJP, but you have been appointed as the chief of the state unit. How do you see your elevation especially as Tamil Nadu seems to be on BJP’s priority list?

A: I am indeed less than a year old in the BJP and our party believes Tamil Nadu is very critical in terms of our growth in southern India. More importantly, Tamil Nadu is also a state which has received a lion’s share in the Union Budget and in several welfare schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister personally likes Tamils, their culture, and their indomitable spirit. In this context, the responsibility given to me is very huge and I am conscious of the fact that we have a lot of work to do. Nothing is easy in Tamil Nadu and our goal is to reach out to every segment of the Tamil society by taking our ideology to them. We are confident that people in the state will vote for the BJP in large numbers in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In 2019, we could not translate the Prime Minister’s popularity to votes in the state because of false propaganda and structural deficiencies within the party unit. Our primary goal is to popularise the BJP and get people’s endorsement in terms of votes.

Q: Is the BJP strong enough to face such a challenge? It is widely believed that the four seats that the party won in the April 6 assembly election are largely due to the alliance with AIADMK. Your comments.

A: I will not get into the issue of how the BJP won the four seats because give and take is the hallmark of any alliance. We brought our share of voters to the table and the AIADMK being a bigger party brought their own. Let us understand that Tamil Nadu is not a homogenous state because every region votes in a different manner. We have strengths and weaknesses in each region of the state. I agree we have a lot of structural deficiencies and right now we are not able to reach all the 60,000 to 70,000 booths in the state. We are massively scaling up our reach and our goal is to have the critical last mile communication. We must go to Tamil Nadu’s hinterland where the Prime Minister’s schemes have reached massively. We are devising plans to connect with the rural voters where our cadres go to every village and talk to the people there. Once we establish the last mile communication, the sky is the limit for the BJP in TN.

Q: How long does the BJP think it will take for it to reach the masses in Tamil Nadu and how difficult it would be?

A: We do not have the pressure of imminent elections for the next three years, though the local body polls are fast approaching. We are confident of doing well in the local body election. Coming to the larger issue of 234 assembly constituencies and 39 Lok Sabha segments, we are looking at the next three years as an opportunity to go all out and build the party very strongly at the grassroots. It is a long and time-consuming process. We got to create leaders in the process, nurture them, and help them grow. At the same time, we want to project BJP as a party that reflects the social identity of the state. The leaders who we create in the process will reflect people’s aspirations on the platforms of nationalism and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda. It is a work in progress. We are confident we will do it in the coming years.

Q: You say the Prime Minister respects Tamils and their language. But many TN MPs receive replies from Union Ministers in Hindi to the letters they wrote in English. What do you have to say about this? Will you take it up with the Centre?

A: Of course, it is my duty. We will genuinely reflect the aspirations of the people of Tamil Nadu. There have been occasions where non-Tamil ministers have replied in the language. Replies in Hindi is not deliberate, and it could be a bureaucratic mistake. We are taking up the issue with the Centre and ensure that every communication is made in a language that people here understand.

Q: Karnataka, where BJP is in power, says it will construct Mekedatu reservoir across Cauvery come what may. What is TN BJP’s stand on the issue?

A: Tamil Nadu BJP’s stand is very clear. The issue is before the Supreme Court since 2017. The directions and guidelines of the apex court are very clear. They say nobody can build a dam without the permission of the lower riparian state. Tamil Nadu is a lower riparian state and Karnataka needs our permission. Moreover, building a dam and the permission for it are not in Karnataka’s hands, the nod must come from the Central Government. Farmers here will be affected if the project is implemented. We are opposed to the project, and this is our stand.

Q: Karnataka says it does not need Tamil Nadu’s permission to build the dam. Your comments.

A: From a legal point of view, Karnataka cannot construct the dam without Tamil Nadu’s permission and there is no way that the dam can be built. The Union Water Resources Ministry is very clear that a dam cannot be built without the concurrence of the lower riparian states. This is where we stand. I can give an assurance that the Centre will not let down Tamil Nadu.

Q: New Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has reacted sharply to the TN BJP’s day-long fast on August 5 against the construction of the Mekedatu dam. What is your reaction?

A: I have made the Tamil Nadu BJP’s stand clear and does not want to comment further on the issue or react to statements in this regard.

Q: Your predecessor L Murugan’s biodata which was released by the BJP mentioned that he hailed from Kongu Nadu. Though some of your party leaders appeared to support the demand, the BJP clarified it has no plans of bifurcating Tamil Nadu after a public outrage. Did the BJP test the waters on the issue?

A: If you look at the profile of 43 ministers who were sworn in last month, at least 8 of them had mentioned their social identity like Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, Gharwal, Konkan Maharashtra, Dakshin Kannada, and Kongu Naadu. It is nothing more than a mere mention of social identity for a person who hails from that area. That is how the BJP sees it. And TN is a state which has always thrived in unity among diversity as different regions behave differently. BJP as a party never espoused a single identity. The identity of Bharat is always there which supersedes the identity of Tamil, and the identity of Tamil supersedes the identity of being a Kongu Tamilian. We are never a party that says fuse everybody into a straight-jacketed mechanism.

Q: So, you mean to say Kongu Nadu is not the cards?

A: Yes. We have spoken very clearly and very elaborately. Kongu Nadu is not on the table.

Q: Despite tall claims by the then ruling alliance, the DMK combine secured a two-thirds majority in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. What went wrong for the AIADMK-BJP-PMK alliance in the assembly election?

A: I would like to dig deeper into the numbers. If you take 45 seats that the NDA lost, if you cumulatively add the losing margin, it is just 1.90 lakh votes. This was a close election and the difference in vote share between DMK and AIADMK is just 3 per cent. I agree that in a first past the post system, it tilts massively. It is a democracy that we inherited, and this is a democracy with which we must live. My analysis is that a lot of sub-issues mattered this election. The 10.5 per cent reservation played a role in North, parts of the west and central regions, while AMMK (led by AIADMK rebel T T V Dhinakaran) was a factor in the south. Sub-issues mattered this election which means politics in Tamil Nadu is getting more complicated and tougher. People in the government will have to heed people’s sensitivity and regional aspirations. It is no more a straight-jacketed state where you can make decisions on the go and expect people to accept them. When we have larger than life personalities, these sub-issues don’t matter. But now they matter, and this is what the election result has shown.

Q: Are you coming to say that the 10.5 per cent reservation to Vanniyars within the 20 per cent MBC quota and AMMK tilted the elections in favour of the DMK?

A: The 10.5 per cent reservation was portrayed wrongly among other communities. More than 155 castes make up MBC and Vanniyars are the majority. Due to false propaganda by many political parties, other castes feared that this reservation will affect them. I do not want to get into a clear-cut analysis on AMMK, but it is a fact that the party candidates did play a spoiler in many constituencies. But these two issues did not have an impact across the state because they were sub-issues. The results show elections in Tamil Nadu are getting more complicated and smaller margins of victory might be the future. Micro issues will matter in the long run.

Q: What is the BJP’s stand on its alliance with AIADMK? There were murmurs within the AIADMK that the BJP was the reason behind the alliance’s loss. Will the AIADMK-BJP alliance continue during the local body polls?

A: There will be different and conflicting opinions in every political party, but the leader truly represents the party. Edappadi K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam issued a joint statement maintaining that the alliance between AIADMK and BJP continues. The duo also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and had a fantastic and fruitful discussion. This alliance will continue. Though we are different in terms of our outlook, many of our principles are similar. I don’t see anything adverse to the alliance continuing in the long run as well.

Q: After being appointed as TN BJP chief you openly proclaimed that the party aims to come to power in 2026. If you have that kind of a goal, would it not be at the cost of your ally AIADMK? Are we going to witness what happened with the JD (U) or Shiv Sena in TN?

A: Every party aims to grow. We in BJP have an aim to grow the party and make it win about 150 assembly seats. We are working towards achieving the goal. There is nothing wrong with making a statement or expressing our aspirations. We will reach there in terms of our strength. As I mentioned very clearly, it is a natural aspiration. I don’t see anything wrong. Though BJP is in an alliance with AIADMK, we have several disagreements. We can always coexist where we can bring each other’s strength to the table. At the same time, I agree at this point AIADMK is a much bigger and larger party that has ruled the state for a long time.

Q: Don’t you think BJP’s growth will be at the cost of the AIADMK?

A: AIADMK is a party that has a vote share of about 31 per cent. A large chunk of the remaining population does not oppose BJP. They have been misled by false propaganda. We feel a majority of these people will come to us provided we work hard.

Q: You say the fight in TN is between DMK and BJP. Is it fair to make such a statement when BJP has just four members in the Assembly?

A: If you see DMK’s politics, every single political statement is against the BJP. We pilot a Bill in parliament, and they straightaway attack us. Naturally, a counter-opinion will emerge to any opinion. Narrative wise and ideology wise, the fight is between the DMK and BJP. Whether we translate that into votes is a matter of how we build the party in the next few years.

Q: After you took over, there seems to be an emphasis on the term social justice which was hitherto being used only by Dravidian parties. Is the BJP trying to mimic the Dravidian parties by talking about social justice?

A: BJP has had its presence in Tamil Nadu since 1982 and we have used the term integral humanism as part of our political discourse. But Tamil Nadu is a different state which was forged in a different circumstance. The term social justice has resonated since the 1917s right from the days of the Justice Party. But the DMK as a party has hijacked a lot of philosophies into a single umbrella of one party and one family rule. Real social justice is bettering the lives of people considering the historical perspective of where they come from. I agree politics is the most important tool in delivering social justice. When you lock everything into a single-family, what social justice would they deliver? More than mimicking the word, I use the term real social justice and BJP is the only party that will ensure that.

Q: The DMK moved the court seeking to provide 27% reservation for OBCs in all-India quota (AIQ) seats in medical courses. The BJP implements it only after a ruling by the Supreme Court. How fair is it for the BJP to take credit and hail PM Modi?

A: Am not getting into who did what. It is very easy for a party like DMK to just play to the gallery. The DMK was part of the UPA-I and UPA-II and will it bother to explain the steps it took to ensure that the OBC reservation was implemented. Did they speak anything about All India Quota? The BJP had in 2016 filed an affidavit in the Madras High Court agreeing to provide the quota for students from Tamil Nadu. But there were other court cases too. I think the government took this much time to clear all the bottlenecks. The DMK fully understands the reason behind the delay is because of a slew of cases but they play to the gallery. Doing it for namesake and doing it in letter and spirit is the difference between real social justice and lip service to social justice. It is always easy to comment but the Prime Minister personally took efforts to get this decision made. Let people be the judge of who did that and who delivered on the promise.