Why did you float the party?
I started the Devendra Kulla Vellar Federation because among the various Dalit segments in the state, Devendras were in the vanguard of the struggle against untouchability. However, when we started working we discovered that the plight of potmakers, dhobis, barbers, Mutherayars in the central districts and many marginal communities faced similar problems. Since none of them accounted for a size-able votebank, the mainstream parties were ignoring them. The Coimbatore bomb blasts revealed that the Dravidian movement has lost its secular bearings to a large extent. How can we defend the alliance between the AIADMK, the MDMK and the PMK with the BJP? We felt the time had come to put ideology back in politics and thats how PT was born.
How will you implement your plan of creating an egalitarian society?
We are clear that no forum is in itself against the Dalits or the minorities, because of the Constitution written by Ambedkar. Hence, we have decided to fight for rights from all the forums. From street fighting to being vocal in the legislative assemblies; from seeking judicial intervention to organising mass movements. We have managed to get a few things done through the courts. Drinking water was thus restored to the people of Kudiyankulam.When I demanded the white paper on the implementation of reservation in government services in the state assembly, the government cleared a huge backlog of appointments. Now I am fighting the Prevention of Terrorism Act to retain our fundamental rights.
What is your next destination?
To have a share in the power and decision-making processes. However, we will not do what the BSP has done to the determent of the Dalitswhich is aligning with the BJP. We consider the BJP and the RSS responsible for most of the social ills prevailing in the country and we also know that the question of being a deterrent by aligning with them would be only suicidal. We are also clear that in our search for secular and equitable government, we should not push the misdeeds of the OBCs under the carpet because, in the present context, OBCs have been Brahminised so much in their attitudes that they deserve the same condemnation as the Brahmins.
