‘Tamil Nadu is heading towards a change of regime’

CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan is confident that the DMK-led front will win the Assembly election since it has both “political strength and strength of the alliance”. In an interview, he said people would reject the point that the DMK-alliance was anti-Hindu, as they had done in the 1971 election. Excerpts:

An electoral outcome is decided by the political strength and strength of the alliance partners. Both are in our favour in this election. I could see tremendous response to the campaign of DMK leader M.K. Stalin, particularly. In his campaign in Tiruvaur, which was undertaken at short notice, I could witness the participation of not just workers from alliance parties but also the general public in huge numbers. It is a clear indication that Tamil Nadu is heading towards a change of regime. This is a campaign run by the ruling party itself. They spread the message that there is no public anger against the government. But the truth is different. If you take into consideration the Delta districts, coconut farmers who bore the brunt of Cyclone Gaja are yet to recover from the damage. They have not been able to remove the trees, so far, in several places. Though the Chief Minister has announced compensation, it is yet to reach the farmers. They also could not get crop insurance in full. When O. Panneerselvam was the Chief Minister, he declared the State drought-hit. During a protest over the issue in Tiruvarur, a farmer died. The protesters refused to remove his body. Mr. Panneerselvam constituted a committee of four Ministers to deal with the issue and declared the State, barring Chennai, as drought-hit. Though he announced a waiver of loans, this has not been implemented yet.