For someone who ruled the silver screen for decades, J Jayalaithaa became media shy when she morphed herself to a politician. In this candid interview to News18 given in 2009, she talks about her choices in life and how stardom — in films as well as politics — was thrust upon her. People like Cho Ramaswamy say you were probably a reluctant politician...
Not probably. I was reluctant to enter politics and I never wanted to be in politics.Would you have liked to be lawyer?
I would have very much liked to be a lawyer or I would have been a very good academician.But then how did politics happen to you?
Because of MGR. Because he literally compelled me to join politics to help him. He convinced me.Tamil Nadu Politics Minus Jayalalithaa: A Look at the PossibilitiesDo you enjoy politics today?
I don’t enjoy politics. I am doing my duty. I am doing my duty to the party, to my party cardre, to the people of this state, to the people of the nation. If you really want to know the truth, I have been pushed into two high-profile professions, two high-profile careers, which I would have never chosen if I had been allowed to choose myself.Your critics would say that you are inaccessible, that your style of governance is sort of like a dictatorship. How would you respond?
Any leader always has supporters as well as critics. That is democracy. In a democracy, whoever gets the majority of votes becomes the leader, the MLA or the MP or whatever. No one ever gets 100% support. It just doesn't happen. So out of six lakh votes, you may get four lakh vote or something. It depends on the percentage, so critics are always bound to be there. Carping critics will always be there. There are many people who just can't bear to see a women being in power or even successful. Some people just can't bear to see a women considered intelligent, strong and dynamic, they just don't like it. Many people simply don't like taking orders from a women.Also Read: Jayalalithaa Remembered on Twitter, Celebs and Politicians Pay TributeI am talking about the aura around you madam... you feel there is a shield...
It's not something that I consciously do. I have not consciously tried to project any kind of image, I am just being myself. Now, in order to be a successful leader of a very large party, we have 1.5 crore members in our party... Now to keep a tight grip on such a large party is no easy task. So in order to be able to run such a party successfully and stair it to victory, you got to be tough, you got to be strong, may times you have to be ruthless, you also have to be compassionate, you also have to be considerate. I am all of these things. But most importantly, unless you are strong and tough and a 100 times more suitable if you happen to be a women, you just can't cope with the pressures of a political career, you just can't run a large party like this. And having been the chief minister I can also say you can't govern a state, you can't administrator the state well unless you are strong and tough. So I have to be strong, I have to be tough, now when I am strong and tough and when I run my party successfully and when I give a good administration, instead of appreciating my performance, people say ‘oh! she is tough, she is autocratic, she is dictatorial and so on and so forth’. If I had not been any of these things, if I had given a week inefficient administration, if I would have not been able to keep a grip on my party, they would have said she is a failure because she is a women. That’s it.In 1999, you pulled down the BJP government that gave the impression that you are possibly an unreliable ally. Would you say the things have changed?
Things have definitely changed, no one remains static or stagnant. People grow, as the years go on. I have grown, evolved, I have developed a lot of maturity and I have gained a lot of experience that comes only with time. And I have gained a lot of knowledge also and definitely I am very different from what I was 10 years ago.
Comments
0 comment