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 Two weeks after raising political
temperatures in Delhi by making a determined but unsuccessful
attempt to prop up President Kalam for a second term,
Jayalalithaa has made it clear that she is ready for a larger
role in national politics.
In an exclusive interview to TIMES NOW, the
UNPA leader and AIADMK chief said the UNPA and the Left parties
can "come together in the future". Jayalalithaa said though she
was not talking to the Left leaders, other leaders of the UNPA
"are in touch with the Left".
When asked if the Left and UNPA can come
together in a political formation at the Centre, Jayalalithaa
said, "It is certainly possible for the Left parties and the
UNPA to come together at the Centre, why not?" Hinting that a
UNPA-Left combine would be more of a natural alliance than the
UPA-Left combine, Jayalalithaa said by supporting the UPA, "The
Left is not being true to its ideology, not practising what they
preach, and not trying to implement their own policies today."
Also clear in the interview was
the fact that Jayalalithaa is more than ready to spend more time
now on national politics and is ready for a role beyond Tamil
Nadu. The enigmatic politician, who is clearly the most visible
face of the UNPA, denied that she was trying to groom herself
for a national role, saying that her "role at the national level
will now evolve with time".
When pushed on the subject
further, she said: "I do feel that this is a time when regional
parties, regional forces, have a decisive role to play at the
Centre, at the national level, Central politics."
When asked whether she will now
pay more attention to national politics she said: "Only time
will tell what my role will be, but as far as I am concerned, I
have no other interests in life than to serve the nation. I have
no family, I have no personal interests, so I am here to serve
the nation. As to how and in what capacity, only time can tell.
But I have a vision for this country. And my vision, which I
hope will be a reality in my lifetime, is that India should
become a global superpower. And I hope to see this achieved in
my lifetime. And I will do whatever I can to achieving this
goal."
When asked whether the slew of
legal cases and corruption charges against her will make it
difficult for her to carve out a role in New Delhi, she said she
will fight back every charge made against her, and that she had
"been acquitted as not guilty in 12 cases, including the case
for which I was put in jail for a month".
When asked if her inability to
compromise could be her weak spot as she gets more active in
national politics, she said: "I am a versatile person who can
adapt myself to changing circumstances. I am tough, otherwise I
would not have reached the position where I have reached today.
But at the same time I am flexible. I am capable of
flexibility."
Revealing that President Kalam
had said he did not want to contest when she called him up for
the first time itself (as opposed to news reports that he was
open to contest), Jayalalithaa made it clear that backing NDA
candidate Shekhawat was almost an impossibility.
Jayalalithaa's decision to
plunge into national politics is significant, as is the public
timing of this interview, since she is believed to be pitting
herself against Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the national
level.
"Sixty years since we won our
Independence, will we place India at the feet of a foreign
power, to put it more specifically at the feet of a foreigner, a
foreign woman?" she asked. When reminded that Sonia Gandhi had
shunned the prime ministership, she said: "It is an unhealthy
situation. Everyone knows she is the power behind the throne.
This could not happen anywhere else in the world."
Having earlier described
Pratibha Patil as "a joke on the nation played by Sonia Gandhi"
she said: "Sonia Gandhi now wants to remote control both the
Prime Minister and the President."
(Excerpts of Jayalalithaa's
interview to TIMES NOW news channel.)
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