With the Election Commission of India's announcment of the dates for the state's Assembly election, Speaker M Appavu's term has officially come to an end. Although Tirunelveli did not have any representation in the DMK government's cabinet, Appavu's Tirunelveli dialect served as the backdrop of the House during his five-year tenure. Having held a constitutional post that is traditionally said to carry 'sky-high power', he spoke about various state- and district-level political issues with TNIE's Thinakaran Rajamani. Excerpts:
Q: What do you think of your achievements as TN's Assembly speaker?
When I was made speaker, I had doubts if I deserved to hold the post. However, I confidently moved on. Managing challenges from the former Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi itself was an achievement. He was functioning against the Constitution and expressed his opinions in the House like an MLA. He read out his own texts instead of what was approved during budget sessions. A governor has no right to do so. However, I handled Ravi well as per Assembly rules.
Q: During the 2021 poll campaign, the DMK had promised to hold 500 days of Assembly sessions but held only around 150 days. The promise to telecast all Assembly proceedings live has also not been fulfilled. Why is this so?
Conducting the Assembly for 500 days is not possible amid Parliamentary and Assembly election schedules. We are already telecasting 20% to 40 % of the proceedings live. Only after training the MLAs on how to speak in the Assembly can we live-telecast the entirety. Recently, an MLA escalated a caste-related issue in the Assembly, to which other members were opposed. We are not RSS ideologues to encourage such activities. Those members who speak wrongly in the Assembly will be hated by people in their constituencies.
The AIADMK claimed that you cut the live telecast when their leaders spoke in the Assembly and did not allot them enough time to speak, and also blamed you for delaying the acceptance of R B Udayakumar as deputy leader of opposition?
I allotted twice the time to AIADMK leaders than what they are entitled to. I never cut the live telecast when they were speaking. In connection with the seating arrangements, the AIADMK leaders were raising complaints against each other like schoolchildren. As per Assembly rules, only the leader of opposition can be given specific seat arrangements. Other things are the prerogative of the speaker. Once the AIADMK government did not make necessary arrangements for wheelchair-bound Assembly member and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi. Unlike them, I have acted in an unbiased manner.
Opposition parties claim that caste-related atrocities in Tirunelveli district are on the rise in the DMK regime. Still, how could you claim in your recent pressers that there are no caste clashes in the district?
A: I do not completely deny that such incidents took place. However, personal fights between people of different castes are being considered as clashes between two castes. The Tamil Nadu government has given special attention to caste-related clashes, and the police have arrested the culprits immediately. However, it is true that some people think that the government's argument failed to secure punishment for the culprits in the courts. The courts should also be cooperative for the public cause. The state police has not made any false arrests in the past five years. If courts acquit the culprits in such cases, what can anyone do? The courts give judgements based on the records submitted before them. Sometimes they may be seen as wrong judgements.
Have you sought a ticket to contest from the Radhapuram Assembly constituency once again?
I will contest if my party president M K Stalin wants me to. The claim that I have sought a seat for my son is a rumour. He did not even submit an application seeking a seat.
Do you think the DMK will return to power?
100%. Our party president will take oath as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu once again. The DMK has moved far ahead of the NDA bloc in shaping its alliance. The NDA bloc has yet to start seat-sharing talks. The BJP is threatening actor-politician Vijay's Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) to join the NDA. The TVK was actually floated with the backing of BJP to split the minority vote bank of the DMK. Even in the Karur tragedy, the fact-finding team sent by the BJP supported Vijay, who is to be blamed for the incident.
If the DMK finds fault with Vijay in the Karur tragedy, why did the government not even name him in the FIR?
If the DMK takes legal action against Vijay, it will be accused of fearing his political activities. The DMK is not afraid of anyone. The government formed an SIT headed by senior IPS officer Asra Garg. However, the TVK challenged the decision in the court.
Have you fulfilled the promises you made to the people of the Radhapuram constituency?
Yes. I have got the people of my constituency water supply schemes worth over `1,000 crore. As many as 831 villages got drinking water supply facilities. Residents in seven town panchayats and one municipality are going to receive water on a par with that of Chennai residents. I also brought a District Government Headquarters Hospital and an Additional District Court to Valliyoor.
Opposition parties claim that you failed to stop illegal stone-quarrying in your constituency and its transportation to Kerala. Is this true?
I have been against mining of both sand and stone since the 1990s. I have staged protests against it and moved the court. However, the former Radhapuram MLA was running a quarry in his relative's name. Tamil Nadu has 2,500 to 3,000 quarries across the state but the people talk only about the quarries in Radhapuram. Whenever the local residents opposed a quarry, I have stood by them. However, the quarry operators bribed the local leaders and silenced the protests. As a speaker, I cannot stand on the road and protest against the quarries which are functioning with licences. My family does not own a quarry or truck. We also need stone for construction works in Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, other Tamil Nadu government housing projects and groynes. The mineral is transported to Kerala as it is located near Radhapuram.