Is your party trying to occupy the slot vacated by the AIADMK?
It is not necessary to occupy a vacancy. I think the TMC is creating a slot for itself. That slot extends to the area vacated by the AIADMK too.
Will your desire to come to power in Tamil Nadu affect your relationship with the DMK?
The aim of any political party is to come to power and expressing the desire to rule will not be mistaken by my friend Karunanidhi. Whatever had been our political positions, they did not come in the way of our deep friendship. Hence, the aspiration of the TMC is not an anti-DMK stand.
After being dictated to by the Congress high command for three decades, how is it like to be a high command in your own right?
I have a lot of freedom to decide. But the responsibility is much more than the freedom. I can't blame Delhi any longer. And this overwhelming responsibility makes me tread cautiously.
How do you assess the United Front Government's performance?
Running the UF Government is a very difficult exercise. We are pulling on well.Some compromises have to be made all the time as the government has a one-point programme of preventing communal forces from taking over the official machinery.
What are your views on the Cauvery crisis?
People may politicise what I say and say that I am sacrificing Tamil Nadu's interests. But I think the Cauvery Tribunal's judgement of providing 205 tmc ft water is not right. Instead of quantifying, if the tribunal had issued an order that during the distress period the river water should be shared on a percentage basis, it would have worked.
