A true benevolent authoritarian enforces discipline for the greater good: Seeman

Your party’s manifesto talks about reorganizing the economy around agriculture. Are you talking about closing industries and factories over time or seeking balance between industrial growth and agricultural growth?

I’m not saying we should close down. But there are toxic industries that poison the soil, water and air. They cannot be allowed to operate. If we want to provide jobs for everyone and build a stable economy, we need to move towards an agriculture-centered economy.

We must achieve self-sufficiency in food production. Today, many countries have collapsed because they abandoned agriculture. Meanwhile, even basic food items such as onions are imported from countries such as Egypt. What is the pride in exporting cars? I’m not saying close the factories. Long live. But I will also create government-led industries based on local resources. These will create jobs that do not require high salaries but have low living costs. Engineers are unemployed today. Highly educated people apply for guard jobs.

Why not work in agriculture-related industries instead? Managing dairy logistics, production, processing – isn’t that work? Is information technology work the only thing that matters? Why is a job only considered a ‘real job’ if it’s at an American company? Isn’t that the job?

NTK’s manifesto talks about decentralization of power, but also talks about “benign authoritarianism.” Don’t you find this contradictory?

Authoritarianism is not tyranny. Hitler was not a true authoritarian leader; It was oppressive. Extremism means strong commitment to an idea. Terrorism eliminates people who disagree. A truly benevolent, authoritarian leader enforces discipline for the greater good. Like a doctor giving a painful injection to save his child. In our country, people follow the rules abroad but not at home. From where? Because of excessive freedom without discipline.

We need maximum authority to effectively implement minimum democracy. Decisions should be democratic but implementation should be strict. Like a mother forcing her child to eat; This may seem harsh but it is love. This is benevolent authoritarianism.

Without discipline, there is no order. That’s why we see lawlessness and social decay.

Why didn’t you join an alliance or establish an alliance that would accept you as a leader even though you received over 8% of the votes?

The reason is our purpose and ideology. When [actor and TVK founder] Vijay came to politics and declared EVR (EV Ramasamy) as his ideological leader. I am fighting to defeat Dravidian ideology… but he is trying to install it once again.

He talks about defeating DMK and AIADMK but takes Dravidian ideologues as role models. I think parties use freebies to fool people. Tamil Nadu’s debt has reached almost ₹10.5 lakh crore but there has been no improvement in the quality of healthcare and education. So all these parties look alike.

Have you reached out to CPI(M), CPI, VCK and PMK for alliance?

They will not advocate Tamil nationalist politics. None of them will come… They have adopted the idea that it is not possible to win without paying for votes.

They have also immersed themselves in Dravidian ideology and aligning with a caste group does not work for us. We are a party for everyone… we pursue politics for everyone. So who is there that I can form an alliance with? Only Vijay… but he too is aligned with Dravidian parties. I’ll take my time… but I won’t come back. It is the people who must decide to support us. You tried DMK and AIADMK…. why don’t you vote for us now? Can we be worse than DMK or AIADMK?

What would the first six months of the NTK government be like if voted into power?

I will begin implementing a 10-year green plan; I will employ people to plant trees, just like our sanitation workers [to remove garbage].

I will begin to properly eliminate encroachments, cleanse, clean and maintain water bodies. I will quickly, quickly create new water storage systems on a war basis.

We need to build health systems with public hospitals that can rival private hospitals. I saw how Arvind Kejriwal was [former Chief Minister] did this in Delhi and [Chief Minister] Pinarayi Vijayan made it in Kerala.

We need to establish “green” schools and “green” roads while eliminating invasive trees such as seemai karuvelam and eucalyptus. At the same time, I will create employment in people’s living spaces and improve the quality of education and health.

You refuse direct cash transfers to people. You want educated people to adapt to “village-centered” economic growth. We have people working in industry and earning good salaries.

When labor is given for free, there is no wage or development in return for labor. This is dangerous.

What I’m saying now may sound funny, but people will forget how to work (hard). We know how much people suffer when tomato prices rise.

We all consume milk, oil, butter… we eat meat… we all want organic food… but we think that raising sheep and cows does not suit us.

So, when we go to a self-sufficient, village-based economy, we can target a larger milk market. Economic needs are greatly reduced when we provide quality free education, quality healthcare and pure drinking water. This means people do not need high wages.