Search the Internet           Tips

The Rediff Interview/TDP leader Y Yerran Naidu

Telugu Desam Party leader in the Lok Sabha Y Yerran Naidu has been an active campaigner for the distressed farmers of Andhra Pradesh. Last week, he, along with other TDP MPs demonstrated under Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament.

Tara Shankar Sahay spoke to Yerran Naidu about the significant political developments inside and outside Parliament, including the PM's statement on the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Why has your party suddenly adopted a hardline approach against Prime Minister Vajpayee's statement on Ayodhya when it has come to his defence on various issues?

The TDP has extended support to the government from outside and our support cannot be taken for granted. We have consistently emphasised to the prime minister that it has to function according to the NDA's agenda of governance and its common minimum programme.

We feel the PM's recent statement on the Ram temple in Ayodhya has the dangerous potential of fanning the fire of communalism. This is why that the TDP took the initiative to ask for a clarification from the PM. There should be no confusion that secularism is our party's basic philosophy and we will protect its sanctity by all means.

Is your party confident that the prime minister will further clarify his statement as demanded by your party and the Trinamul Congress when he has already done so?

Of course. Some incidents have already occurred in Uttar Pradesh as an adverse fallout of his statement. In Andhra Pradesh, we have a large number of voters from the minority community. They look up to our party to safeguard their constitutional rights.

There were some reports in the media that the TDP (and the Trinamul) were satisfied with Vajpayee's statement on the temple, so why this renewed demand for a clarification?

Our party is an important alliance partner and the government has to respond if we feel that the secular fabric in the country is endangered because of its pronouncements. We will not take it lying down if the NDA agenda of governance is flouted. We want the prime minister to ensure that his unwarranted statement does not further aggravate the communal situation in the states.

There is a feeling that your party's stand on the PM's statement is geared more towards deriving maximum possible mileage for Andhra Pradesh.

That is nonsense. We are our people's representatives in Parliament. We are there to safeguard their interests which we are doing, whether it is our farmers or secularism. We are not there to cater to anybody's whims and fancies.

Do you think the prime minister made the statement under coercion or duress by members of the Sangh Parivar?

How can I say that? As far as my party is concerned, it was unfortunate and unwarranted. That is why the TDP wants a clarification from Vajpayeeji so that there are no further communal incidents in the states.

Is there a special relationship between the TDP and the Trinamul, considering Mamata Banerjee's support to your campaign for the farmers of Andhra Pradesh?

What is wrong with that? Both the TDP and the Trinamul are coalition partners and they have a right to express their feelings in Parliament and outside. The TDP has supported the cause of the Trinamul Congress for prompt flood relief measures in West Bengal. Our party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu visited West Bengal at Mamataji's behest. So you can see that the alliance partners co-operate with each other, especially regarding problems persisting in our states.

What do you think of the Opposition stalling the proceedings in Parliament over the Ayodhya issue?

As alliance partners we are with the government, as long as it does not overstep the NDA agenda of governance. On sensitive communal and constitutional issues, the prime minister must take the allies into confidence so that there is little scope of heartburn afterwards.

What is your party going to do now that the PM's controversial statement has threatened to snowball into a major controversy?

The TDP is an NDA partner, but its strategy is decided by our leadership. We support the government from outside and it knows it cannot ignore our stand on the communal, constitutional and secular issues.

The Rediff Interviews

Tell us what you think of this interview