| Published on 30-04-2007 In National |
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Written by
Cho Ramaswamy |
H Tamilarasan, Mumbai 17
Question: What do you make of Karunanidhi's challenge to Dr Ramadoss asking the PMK to contest on a plank of prohibition in Puducherry?
Answer: It is a good question from the Chief Minister. So far Dr Ramadoss doesn't seem to have reacted to it because it has placed him in a tricky situation.
K Banu, Chennai68
Question: "Narasimha Rao not only created a new path for our economy, but also determined our present day foreign policy," says Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Comment.
Answer: Though Rajiv Gandhi had also made a start in this direction, the real progress in these two aspects of our central governance was achieved only under Rao's regime in which Dr Singh was Union Finance Minister because liberalisation began seriously only then. Singh has recalled this during a period when Rahul Gandhi has been going hammer and tongs against Rao. Our PM's honesty in this respect is indeed praiseworthy.
K Banu, Chennai 68
Question: Which political leaders have moulded your line of thinking after [the late] Kamaraj and Morarji Desai?
Answer: Chandrasekhar and Advani.
S Kuppuswamy, Venkittapuram
Question: Jayalalithaa is supporting reservations merely to garner minorities' votes during [the future] Lok Sabha elections, says Karunanidhi. Comment.
Answer: In my opinion, the Chief Minister's comment is correct as far as minorities are concerned. But it must also be said that all political parties do so only on that basis. There are no exceptions in this regard amongst political leaders or parties.
P Choodamani, Chennai 93
Question: Why do you think that there is more opposition to the recent CD released by the BJP when the [criticism against it] vis-à-vis the Babri Mosque [demolition] and Godhra carnage issues have almost died down?
Answer: I think that the real reason is that the CD in question encourages communal hatred. This has attracted attention only because of the elections [in UP]. While there are some doubts as to whether the BJP was really behind the production of the CD, nobody seems to have questioned the fact that it creates communal friction.
S Swaminathan, Dalmiyapuram
Question: What is your opinion about the reduction of Rs. 5 per unit of pulses, vegetable oils etc. in fair price shops instead of their being supplied at subsidies rates? Is it a really a beneficial measure or merely an eyewash?
Answer: This is a token measure of sympathy. One cannot really raise any objections about it. But, whether the measure will last for long time is a question mark. In my opinion, if there is a small reduction [in open market] prices of these consumables, the government will use it as an excuse to discontinue the measure.
P Choodamani, Chennai 93
Question: Isn’t the capture of power by the BJP in the Delhi municipal elections a major defeat for the Congress?
Answer: There is no doubt about that. Even opinion and exit polls hadn't predicted such a victory for the BJP. On that count it is indeed a shock for the Congress. Its supporters and leaders are finding solace by saying that the party lost only because it implemented the sealing measures ordered by the courts. If that was the real reason, the Congress wouldn't have lost by such large margins in the capital. The people in Delhi wanted a change and that resulted in the victory of the BJP. That is all.
R Mohan, Theni
Question: What is your take on the central government's appointing a high power committee to find out whether reduction of the army's presence in Kashmir is really needed?
Answer: The very talk about such a possibility, in my opinion, is [the centre's] weakness.
K Banu, Chennai 68
Question: Don’t you think that the charge made by National Security Advisor Narayanan that the LTTE is involved in the Chennai stock market is something very serious?
Answer: It certainly is serious. But the matter doesn't end there. The Tigers are said to be connected to several other bigger and smaller commercial and cultural establishments in the state. The government should take all this things very seriously.
N Shanmugam, Salem 1
Question: The coach, players, team selection process or the nation's cricket establishment as a whole =96 who or which amongst these are at fault?
Answer: The real handicap is the new crowd of fans of the game who had been angered by private television channels' propaganda.
Not only have they turned into fanatics, but the malaise has affected those who know the game and the strengths/ weaknesses of our team vis-à-vis other nations. This has resulted in loss of equilibrium amongst everybody and that is the real problem.
K Ganeshan, Panangottur
Question: “If I am forced to order the sharing of Cauvery waters according to the terms stipulated by the tribunal, instead of doing so, I would rather resign," says Karnataka Chief Minister Kumaraswamy. Comment.
Answer: As the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has pointed out, this sort of talk is a challenge against the unity and integrity of the whole nation. Kumaraswamy's attempt to sacrifice the Constitution itself on the altar of vote-bank politics is reprehensible.
J Benazir Sadiq, Keezhcharakkalvilai
Question: What is your take on the move to enact major changes in the Tamil Nadu Police Act as per directions of the Supreme Court?
Answer: There is a vital difference between controlling police excesses and creating a legal barrier in the very functioning of the police. If changes are made in the statute keeping these in view, it would be welcome. But if such changes become a stumbling block in the performance of the police, it would weaken it.
S Raja Mohammed, Dindigul 1
Question: What is your take about the raging controversy in Karnataka over the statement of Infosys boss Narayan Murthy that his company's foreign employees would consider learning our national anthem an impediment and his subsequent apology in the matter?
Answer: His statement, per se, isn't acceptable. But keeping the controversy over the issue alive even after his apology is meaningless.
Umari P Ganeshan, Mumbai 37
Question: The AIADMK says that the government should run cable television. Do you think that this is possible?
Answer: The government can be one of the bodies that can run it. It should not be the sole entity. In the case of the latter becoming a possibility, television channels will only function according to the likes and dislikes of the government of the day. That would seriously affect their independence.
R Vanumamalai Perumal, Petharangapuram
Question: What would say is the real achievement of the 10-month old DMK regime?
Answer: It has succeeded in increasing the optimism of Jayalalithaa.
R Vanumamalai Perumal, Petharangapuram
Question: Which parties will get the benefit of Muslim votes during the elections in UP?
Answer: The biggest chunk would go Mulayam Singh. The next beneficiary would be the Congress and a smaller portion of it would go Mayawati's way. If the Muslims end up thinking that the fracturing of their votes would benefit the BJP, it would result in the minorities voting almost en bloc for Mulayam, which will certainly affect the saffron party's prospects.
T Srinivasan, Chennai 14
Question: India and Pakistan should unite like the two Germanys says Union Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. Comment
Answer: I have said several times in the past that such a possibility is fraught with danger.
T Vishwanathan, Madurai 1
Question: Two Lashkar-e-Toiba terrorists arrested in Kashmir last month claimed that they had paid Rs. 10 lakhs to the Indian Navy for infiltrating into India. Comment.
Answer: I only hope that this doesn't make people feel that they will earn a lot of money [through illegal gratification] by joining the Indian Navy.
G Kuppuswamy, Chennai 14
Question: Communist party leader D Pandiyan claims that he has the details the illegal wealth amounting to Rs.700 crores belonging to politicians and government employees. Comment.
Answer: It is an offence to withhold information about offenders from the police.
(Translated fromThuglak by TSV Hari)
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