South First sat down with Karti Chidambaram, well known for his sense of humour and scathing critique of the BJP-led Union government
Published Apr 16, 2025 | 12:00 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 23, 2025 | 8:47 PM
Karti Chidambaram interview.
Synopsis: Karti Chidambaram speaks with South First about the upcoming state Assembly elections, the role of BJP in Tamil Nadu and its alliance with the AIADMK, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases against him, and much more.
Tamil Nadu politics has never been short of excitement. It’s always been one of the most politically active states. Tamil Nadu has taken centre stage recently following several high-profile developments — the Supreme Court’s verdict on the powers of Governors, DMK’s removal of a minister from a high post in the party, the leadership change in Tamil Nadu BJP and the AIADMK-BJP alliance announcement a year ahead of elections.
Amid this buzz, South First sat down with a political leader well known for his sharp wit and scathing critique of the BJP-led Union government — Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.
The son of former Union finance minister P Chidambaram speaks about the upcoming state Assembly elections, the role of BJP in Tamil Nadu and its alliance with the AIADMK, the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases against him, and much more.
Q: You met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently to discuss the issue of the rising number of stray dogs. Did you discuss anything else during that meeting?
A: That was the primary reason why I met the prime minister. Because, you see, there are more than six crore street dogs in India. And as you notice, every day, we are reading about more and more stray dog attacks on people. Even though we are spending $150 million on rabies vaccine, 36 percent of all rabies deaths in the world are in India.
This is a serious problem but nobody addresses it holistically since the Ministry of Wildlife says that street dogs are not part of wildlife. They say they are not concerned about it.
The Ministry of Animal Husbandry does not deal with it because these are not domesticated animals which could come under cattle. The Ministry of Health doesn’t deal with it, because it is not directly dealing with a disease.
Local bodies are supposed to deal with this issue but they don’t have the expertise. Neither do they have the wherewithal or the funds to deal with it. So this is a huge problem that nobody is dealing with. I have been consistently speaking about this, writing about it, raising my voice whenever possible.
I thought I needed to accelerate this to the highest level of the exhibit. That is why I met the prime minister. He appreciated the fact that this is a serious problem, and that we need to have some sort of a holistic national solution, even without encroaching upon the local body’s authority. And I think that this is the first step in a long campaign which I’ve been running.
So I will continue to pursue this. And I want to find a holistic, ethical and humane solution to the street dogs issue. No modern country, no developed country has this problem. And every day not only do people get attacked by dogs but, people being chased by street dogs also down and have fatal accidents, even in Tamil Nadu. In the last three months, we have seen more than one lakh incidents of stray dog attacks.
Q: Did the prime minister discuss any other topics, political or personal?
A: No, no. There was no discussion on politics. We just discussed a few other things and made passing comments about issues that are currently being discussed.
There’s nothing political about it. I’m an elected member of the Parliament. He’s the prime minister of India. I felt that I must take this issue up with the Prime Minister directly.
Q: Will you miss K Annamalai as the BJP’s state chief?
A: It is an appointed position. The party appointed him some time ago and appointed somebody else now. That is their internal affair. It makes no difference to the politics of the Congress party or me. I mean, I know he (former BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai) is there whether he’s the president or not, the post makes no difference to us.
Q: Do you think Nayinar Nagendran will be able to make any difference?
A: See, the BJP is not welcome in Tamil Nadu. The BJP won’t matter regardless of who they appoint to the top positions. They had many presidents in the past, and there will be more in the future. The core ideology of the BJP is Hindi and Hindutva, which is not a very welcome agenda for the Tamil people.
And that is why they consistently reject the BJP. I think, going forward also, they will reject the BJP. It really doesn’t matter who the nominated head of the BJP Tamil Nadu unit is.
Q: Who do you think will be the ultimate beneficiary of the BJP-AIADMK alliance?
A: The AIADMK-BJP alliance had been there in the past. Then, the AIADMK realised that having an alliance with the BJP was detrimental to their vote share. They believe this, and rightly so. They believed that the BJP was a drag on them.
In fact, the people do not trust the AIADMK when they are with the BJP. So they broke the alliance. Now they are back together. They did not win (elections) when they were together; they did not win when they were separate. Now, they came back together. I really don’t see it having any great impact but I will never underestimate the AIADMK.
It is a large political party with a large following. Their symbol is well established but they are not the same as they were before because this alliance with the BJP itself, in my personal opinion, is a forced alliance.
I don’t think the average cadre of the AIADMK is happy with it. This is not the alliance they wanted but has been forced upon them. It is not a natural alliance either. So I’m not too sure how welcome this will be in Tamil Nadu. But of course you still have one year away.
They will try to put together a large formation but the INDIA bloc is large, formidable and united. So, I still fancy the chances of the INDIA bloc in Tamil Nadu.
Q: Do you think it will affect AIADMK’s vote bank, especially that of minorities?
A: I think it will affect the AIADMK vote bank. Because the AIADMK itself, if you notice, recently voted against the Waqf bill but the BJP is the one which brought the bill. There are lots of contradictions.
Whether they will be able to reconcile the contradictions, in my opinion, will be very complicated. The BJP’s agenda — particularly the new educational policy, the thrust of Hindi (into non-Hindi speaking states) and being anti-federal — will be very difficult for the AIDMK to justify.
The AIADMK will be somewhat on the back foot. Even though they are a major political party and this alliance has been somewhat forced, it will be a bit complicated for them to market it to the average voter in Tamil Nadu.
Q: You have been a critic of ED. In your case, the ED took cognisance of a CBI case regarding Chinese visas. Do you think central agencies are being used as a political tool?
A: It’s very obvious that the ED acts selectively. ED is a tool of harassment. I’ve said this before. I am saying again that the EOW (Economic Offences Wing) of the CBI is fully capable of doing this function. There is no reason to have a separate department.
The original purpose of the ED was to go after human trafficking, drug trafficking, and arms trade but now it’s being consistently and regularly used only as a very crude political hatchet.
With all these cases against everybody, nothing seems to happen because there’s more hype than substance in these cases. I’m not concerned about the functioning of the ED. I don’t think the people of India also take the functioning of the ED very seriously.
They have also acted against the Congress party’s historic assets. Everybody sees through the game of the ED and I don’t think there is any shock value regarding what the ED does.
Q: Can you describe the status of your case?
A: I don’t know whether you’ve read the charges in my case. I think you should read the charges in my case. Then you will realise how absurd they are. They will all have a natural death, they will all become a damp squib but it will take a lot of time. That’s the status of the cases.
Q: Do you think the BJP is threatening you?
A: They are not necessarily threatening me or attacking me. I’m just collateral damage in their attack against my father. My father has been a very senior politician and a critic of the BJP. These are basically an attack on him. Since I’m his son and I’m also in politics, I’m the collateral damage along the way.
However, as I said, in the long run, all these cases will become a damp squib and they will just fizzle out eventually.
Q: What is it like to be the son of a popular leader?
A: It comes with a lot of advantages. I have a lot of name recognition and I’m open to admit that opportunities in politics also came to me much faster and quicker. I mean it’s a normal relationship, like in every other household. My father is a high achiever, so you also expect me to be an achiever. So that pressure is there.
I don’t know when opportunities have come my way, but if challenges have accompanied them, that’s just part of the game.
Q: NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) has been a hot topic in Tamil Nadu for the past ten years. BJP and AIADMK claim that it was the Congress and the DMK who implemented NEET. What is the truth in this allegation?
A: When was it implemented? Please check the year when it was implemented. Was the Congress party in power when it was implemented? See, governments come up with ideas but it only takes effect only when it is implemented.
The government, because of bureaucracy, is always coming up with some proposal or the other. However, the implementation and the effectiveness of this policy only came when the BJP was in power. This (NEET) is anti-federal because it takes away the right of the state government to conduct the admission process, even though it is the one funding medical institutions.
It’s also an anti-state exam since the syllabus is heavily based on the CBSE curriculum. Data suggest that only those who can go to the coaching classes are able to clear this NEET — again it’s anti-poor. I believe the NEET is not necessary in Tamil Nadu.
Even if academics believe that you need to have an entrance exam to admit students into medical colleges, that entrance exam must be conducted by the state government as it was done in the past. You must also take its marking system into consideration. What is the point of having 12 years of school education and giving so much importance to the 12th standard marks since you completely disregard it?
There must be some weightage to 12th standard marks as well. You could have a hybrid system by which you take 50 percent from the entrance exam and 50 percent from the 12 standard marks.
Moreover, when there is no central participation in these colleges, how can the Union government conduct an exam to fulfil admissions.
Q: Since Congress is a national party, will its high command accept demands of the states asking for a NEET exemption?
A: Each state has its own political grammar and the Congress party acknowledges that. Tamil Nadu has got its own necessities, needs and requirements.
The Congress party acknowledges that and allow a state by state position. If any of the states want a Union government exam, let them opt for it. You can’t force a Union government exam on a state which does not want it. In Tamil Nadu, tell me which other political party other than the BJP supports NEET; even their newfound ally opposes it.
Where is the political consensus? The political consensus is against NEET. Only one political party is batting for NEET, which is also batting for NEP (National Education Policy 2020) and even the Waqf bill. In fact, the political consensus in Tamil Nadu is against everything the BJP proposes.
Q: Recently MK Stalin formed a joint action committee to counter the delimitation, claiming it to be a threat to South. What is the stand of the Uttar Pradesh Congress, since it would be one of the states that might benefit from the move?
A: That is irrelevant. For every party, as I told you, each state has its own political grammar, and each state unit will articulate the position of that state’s sentiment.
Look at the Cauvery issue, the Karnataka Congress has a position and Tamil Nadu Congress has a different position. In the same way, even in the question of delimitation, Tamil Nadu will have a point of view and Uttar Pradesh might have a point of view. We don’t necessarily need to congregate in a single point of view. Delimitation, if it is going to be done purely on the basis of population, will be very, very unfair to the southern state, including Tamil Nadu.
No political party will accept delimitation in Tamil Nadu purely based on population, except the BJP. The BJP is thoroughly isolated in every issue concerning Tamil Nadu.
Q: You said the Tamil Nadu Congress and the Karnataka Congress have differences of opinion regarding the Cauvery issue. If, in the future, the Karnataka government refuses to allocate water, what will the Tamil Nadu Congress do?
A: If we have a problem with the decision of the Karnataka government, we will go to the Cauvery Management Board. The Cauvery Management Board will make a decision and they have to abide by the Cauvery Management Board’s decision. If they don’t abide by that, we will go to the Supreme Court. That is how disputes are resolved between states.
It is not solved only between political parties or between governments. There is a dispute mechanism and we will follow the dispute mechanisms.
Q: Education was shifted to the Concurrent List from the State List during the time of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Currently, there is a growing demand to return education to the state list, including from your ally DMK, at the national level. What is your position?
A: My position is that it must be returned to the state. That is my will.
Q: Is that possible?
A: It Is possible, I am sure, if we were in the Union government, we would have proposed that idea and strongly advocated moving education back to the state.
Q: Recently there have been some allegations against the Tamil Nadu Congress president. A few of your party’s district presidents had even met the high command demanding his removal. How do you rate his performance? There are also rumours that you are disappointed with him. Is that true?
A: No. You see, it’s a nominated position. We are not very independent in Tamil Nadu since we are in alliance with the ruling party. We are not part of the ruling government but we have an electoral alliance. We are not the opposition either. So, we are in a very odd space.
I really won’t blame anybody who’s the Congress president here, because it’s a very difficult job. You really can’t articulate the position of the Opposition because you are not in opposition.
If others have some sort of misgivings or a difference of opinion in the Congress party, open channels of communication are there, and therefore they are free to go in and share their views. However, I personally don’t have any strong views against the current TNCC president.
I do not believe that I will be ever considered (to be the president) because I’m not sure whether the AICC will allow what I want to do here. Considering that, I’m not necessarily the right person to lead the party in Tamil Nadu.
Q: In the 1950s, Congress was the ruling party of Tamil Nadu. Is there any action plan to revive the party?
A: The plan is not something which I’m going to be discussing in a short interview with you, I have shared where I stand and what I believe the Congress must do, but it’s really up to the AICC to decide whether they want to go in that path or maintain status quo.
And my understanding is that they would like to maintain the status quo and not go on an adventurous path at the moment.
Q: Recently, you compared Indore and Tamil Nadu regarding sanitation and civic sense. Can you elaborate on that?
A: I have not compared. I’ve just said that Indore is much, much better and a cleaner city and got better civic sense. If Chennai needs to learn some lessons, they must first learn lessons from Indore.
I know how Indore was 25 – 30 years ago, and I know how much it has improved right now. If Tamil Nadu, particularly the mayor of Chennai and the Greater Chennai Corporation wants to learn some lessons, the best place for them to go and learn lessons would be Indore.
Q: What are those initiatives? Any suggestions?
A: I’m sorry to say there is no real vision or intent by the Chennai Corporation to make the city clean. I am very, very disappointed by how the city is maintained. Be it garbage collection, stray animals on the road or the condition of the roads. I think that we are doing a great disservice to this historic city.
There must, first of all, be a very effective corporation administration and a very efficient mayor. But I’m afraid that I don’t see that here. Even basic cleanliness is, in my opinion, lacking in Chennai.
So there is a lot that has to be done, a lot can be done. But I don’t see the intent or the drive by the powers that be to keep Chennai, to make Chennai into a, civic model city.
Q: This month marks the 134th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. However, we still have a long way to go in fulfilling his dream of eradicating caste. Although the current DMK government calls itself a social justice government, caste-related issues persist, like in Vengaivayal. Do you think castes should be eradicated?
A: I don’t think the government alone can eradicate caste as it has to be eradicated only through social reformation. Tamil Nadu has done that to a large extent because of the Dravidian movement, particularly after Periyar has pushed back caste identity compared to other states. However, we still have a long way to go. We still have political parties which are overtly casteist. We have caste organisations.
So, this can only come through social reformation and economic progress. And economic progress, in my opinion, is the best way to eradicate the differences between people.
I would also not call the DMK casteist at all. I think they are quite caste neutral, but they play their political calculus at times. But I would not term them as a caste-specific party or a party which favours one caste over another. In my opinion, they have been a fairly neutral political player.
Q: Any political leader from Tamil Nadu currently that you look up to?
A: No, I wouldn’t say that anyone has truly captured my imagination enough to mention. I mean, there are many people who have made an impact—Periyar, for instance, was an agent provocateur. He was very provocative, but at the same time, also a social reformer.
Karunanidhi was a great orator, MGR was a mass leader. I’ve seen some admirable traits in everybody else.
Q: What about Rahul Gandhi and his leadership?
A: He is the leader of our parliamentary party and, you know, given the social dynamics of our political structure, the Gandhi family will always have a central role within our party. In fact, most of our cadre view the family as occupying a pre-eminent position.
And, being a member of the family, he will naturally continue to hold that pre-eminence.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
