‘Our focus is growth for All, will Reach out to people of Tamil Nadu’

You have broken the tradition of bringing budget documents in a briefcase which has been the case since the British rule. What prompted you to replace it with a red cloth folder?

The first thing is that briefcases signify something else nowadays. Secondly, we used to perform poojas for household budget during Ayudha pooja and Lakshmi pooja. We had a tradition of keeping those details with high reverence. We like to pray before doing good things. This is why I decided to bring the change. After all, the briefcase is a tradition of the British and the change was aimed to come out of that mentality.

I am not the first person to break the tradition. Earlier, budget was presented at 5.30 pm as it would be noon in London. Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee changed this. Jaswant Singh, who was the Finance Minister in Vajpayee’s cabinet, brought the budget documents in a folder. Then, Arun Jaitley presented the budget in February to ensure the funds reach the States before April. I belong to the party that has brought many fundamental changes and the latest change is in line with the earlier precedence. 

The folder contained the country’s budget and it was holy that way. What is the story of that folder?

Red and yellow (kumkum and turmeric) are considered sacred in our tradition. As the red signifies success, I selected the colour. Then, we decided to affix national emblem and ‘Sathyameva Jayathe’ on the folder. It was done in my house and my aunt stitched the cloth folder. But I never expected such a response.

Many would refer to Thirukkural, but you referred stanzas fromPurananooru. Is there any particular reason for it?

My uncle was the one who had advised me to use lines from Purananooru. He said that people have been quoting Thirukkural for a long time. He shortlisted a few lines from Purananooru, from which I selected one. Now, there are rumours that the people are affected due to taxation. The song suited well to the message I wanted to convey. Advice given to Pandya king Arivudai Nambi 3,000 years ago is relevant even now. It helped to manifest that the government accepts the advice.

Even though you mentioned the name of the poet Pisirandhaiyar clearly, two members corrected you. Without losing your calm, you said the name again with a smile. Did the correction provoke you?

I am pleased that the members were listening to me carefully. It helped me be careful when reading the budget.

Prime Minister Modi cheered you all through the budget speech and we could see that he was satisfied with it. What did he tell you after the speech?

He told me that I spoke well. He also said, “You prevented me from even drinking water for two hours.” He meant that he was listening to the speech interestingly.

Fuel prices are increased. Do you think this will not affect thecommon man?

Increase in prices would affect the people. I am not denying it. We had to think about the amount of oil we import from other countries. We are spending more money on oil instead of people’s welfare. So, we should shift to public transport and vehicles that use solar energy and electricity. This would decrease the import of crude oil. To improve public transport, we need money. Metro Rails should be introduced in all cities. In cities with Metro Rail, people are happy. If we endure difficulties, it will bring happiness.

Jewellers are expressing discontent saying that increase in import duty would increase the gold price. What do you tell them?

When jewellers import gold and make jewels, it would provide employment benefiting several families. When the jewels are exported, it will bring foreign exchange. If the gold is imported to be exported again, there would be no duty. However, jewellers making jewels and selling them locally affects our foreign exchange. Gold is not the only way to save. We have imposed import duty after thinking whether gold is needed or not. We are not saying that people should not buy gold. If you are firm on buying gold even by importing, we are asking you to pay some tax.

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said that the budget is a document of country’s income and expenses, and asked whether the Finance Minister was nervous to disclose the country’s income and total debts…

I think he was in a hurry to put forth his views in front of the media as he had served as the Finance Minister. I did not conceal the income and expenses. However, reading all the numbers would have taken more time. It was also not possible for the members to grasp them. So, I distributed annexures that contain all the details he had sought. I hope he knows that. I would hear what he has to say after reading them. Saying things without reading is not good.

His another criticism was that farmers’ income was declining, but the minister had not allocated even one paragraph for farmers…

Did he say that? In my two-hour speech, I spoke more about rural areas and farmers. Before 2022, we will implement policies to double farmers’ income. Using eNam scheme, farmers from Karur or Tiruchy can market their yield to people in Assam. I have spoken about eNam and zero-budget agriculture. There were eight or nine paragraphs. Maybe there was no power in his house when I spoke all these.

BJP has registered a landslide victory. But the party did not get the desired victory in Tamil Nadu

The lesson is that we should try more. BJP members in the State tried hard and they have been doing it for four or five years. BJP has a very good base in the State since the days of Jan Sangh. The lesson is that we should reach out to the people more.

In 2014, Jayalalithaa asked ‘Modi or lady’ during her campaigns and won. Now, Stalin did the same and people gave them 37 seats. News reports and social media messages claim that speaking against Modi would fetch votes. How do you see this?

Men and women of this country have supported Modi. But we could not get the support in Tamil Nadu and we understand that. But this is not anti-Modi wave. There are other reasons. We should analyse this. I do not accept there was an anti-Modi wave.

Even though DMK MPs oppose BJP in the Parliament, they have to come to you with representations. When you receive those representations, what would be your thought process as they are opposing you?  

When they give representations, I see them as representatives of people. Every demand they bring forth are from the respective constituencies. I do not have any authority or intention to look them in political angle. Regardless of the political parties, all the MPs have right to raise their demands.

Recent reports say that the Supreme Court judgments will be given in six languages. But they left out Tamil…

That was the decision of the court. I don’t think I can express my views on that.

Election for Vellore constituency has been announced. What would you put forth during the campaign?

As always, we will give importance to equal growth. Everyone should be given equal opportunity in terms of growth, education, health and employment. Without employment, there is no use of talking about equality. Modi’s thought is that equality will be attained if everyone has opportunities. We will put this forth during the campaign.

How is your relationship with AIADMK and BJP before and after election results?

It remains the same. To my knowledge, I do not see any difference.

Did BJP rely more on AIADMK?

It is not like that. All our allies are working with us and we are working with them.

You have been successful in political life. You have grown into a star politician. Are you excited about the growth you have attained?

I consider it as an opportunity rather than being excited about it. It is not mandated that only men and women who hail from political families should enter politics. If one strives hard and if the parties don’t encourage dynastic politics, anyone could succeed. We all have opportunities. 

Did you ever imagine that you would handle portfolios like finance or defence?

No. I never had such ideas and expectations. I have expressed this on several occasions. I did not seek anything from the party but it gave me everything. I am trying to fulfil the responsibilities that the party has bestowed upon me honestly. 

Indicating that he is going out of dynastic politics, Rahul Gandhi has resigned his party post. Narendra Modi has attained great heights from Chief Minister to PrimeMinister. What did Rahul Gandhi fail to learn from Modi?

It is not good to criticise everyone. So, I would not like to say anything on this.

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Nirmala Sitharaman,replying to P Chidambaram’s criticism that there were no schemes for farmers in the budget