On the sidelines of a meeting with members of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee, Tiruchy MP and former TNCC president Su Thirunavukarasar spoke exclusively to Jayakumar Madala. Excerpts:
It has been more than six months since you assumed office, what are your plans for Tiruchy’?
Developing infrastructure is my priority. Proposals for projects to the tune of ` Five crores under the MP fund (MPLAD) have been sent to officials. These include laying of roads, erecting street lights and building sanitation facilities, community halls. The projects would cover all six assembly segments in the Tiruchy parliamentary constituency. Work would commence soon.
The over bridge near Aristo could not be completed because of issues in land acquisition. Do you have a solution?
The project has been delayed because of difficulties in acquiring Defence land. I have requested Defence officials to grant permission for land transfer at the earliest so that construction could be expedited. Negotiations for alternative land are underway, and land from the police grounds has been identified as alternative. I will raise this issue with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and urge him to speed up clearance for land transfer to Defence.
Tiruchy is home to both SMEs and large industries. But many of them are shut creating job crisis. How will you address the growing unemployment issues?
I am planning to meet the owners of shut units, especially in Thiruverumbur. I will get suggestions from them regarding what can be done to revive the units.
Tiruchy is a place with ample of land, water and human resources along with all means of connectivity. I have been meeting officials in New Delhi including the commerce department and urging them to help bring start-ups in Tiruchy. I even urge the owners who have shutdown their units or on the verge to closing to contact me, so plans to revive them can be taken.
Apart from spending from MPLAD fund, are there other plans for Tiruchy’s growth?
Even during the time of MGR, there was talk about making Tiruchy the second capital of the state. While I am not suggesting to shift the capital to Tiruchy, some of the offices in the secretariat can be moved here. Moreover, new projects, buildings and private companies could also be started. I have written to the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to divide the lone ASI circle in Tamil Nadu into two and make Tiruchy as the headquarters of the new circle covering sites in southern districts. I have received a positive response for them.
In the light of recent cross-voting in Pudukkottai, the DMK and Congress were at loggerheads. Is the alliance smooth?
Leaders of both parties have sorted out the issues and have advised cadre not to talk about it. The matter is settles and alliance is healthy. Beyond that, I have a personal suggestion, to conduct the local body elections in future without any political parties affiliations for all the levels including union panchayat and district panchayat as in the village pancahyat. No political party symbol should be used and all the candidates must be independents. This may be applied for the urban local bodies too. I am saying this with my 40 years of experiences in politics.
You have worked with MGR. How would you evaluate Rajinikanth?
MGR and Rajinikanth cannot be compared. Popularity alone cannot help anybody win elections. Rajnikanth is a good friend of mine. Till now, he has not disclosed his principles. It is his choice to align with any ideology, but if he chooses Hindutva, I will oppose it.