Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekher is a

popular playwright, producer and director in the Tamil

film industry. He is also the sitting All India Anna
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of the
legislative assembly from Mylapore, Chennai.
Popularly known as S Ve Shekher, he shares his
mobile number with all the residents of his
constituency and is always accessible to them.
He recently created a flutter when he announced his
decision to resign from the AIADMK. He also
submitted a memorandum to Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister M Karunanidhi [Images] on March 30, asking
for seven per cent reservation for the Brahmin
community.
He explains his reasons behind leaving the AIADMK
to rediff.com's Shobha Warrier.
With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner,
you have announced your decision to quit the
AIADMK. Why did you make this announcement
now?
I didn't think of the time when I made the
announcement. Local party members have been
avoiding me for quite some time. I felt that enough is
enough. There is no support from party supremo J
Jayalalithaa also. The AIADMK is one party where if
Jayalalithaa is affectionate towards you, the entire
party cadre will support you. Otherwise, the party will
throw you out.
You are liked by the people of your constituency
because of your accessibility. Is your party chief
not happy with your work?
Those things don't count at all. Nobody is bothered
about your work. The only thing that works is loyalty.
Yes, I accepted Jayalalitha as the chief of the party.
Did any particular incident trigger off your
decision to quit the party?
No particular incident prompted my decision; there
have been so many continuous incidents. When I
joined the AIADMK, the party offered me the ticket to
contest without me asking for it, and the party funded
my election expenses. But I am basically a strong
supporter of the Bharatiya Janata Party [Images].
Why didn't you join the BJP then?
The ideology of both the parties is the same. I knew
Jayalalitha and she also knew me but (BJP leaders)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee or L K Advani [Images] didn't
know me. I know only the BJP leaders from Tamil
Nadu.
Though the AIADMK was a good party, I think I was
not suitable for the party mentality. I thought they
would utilise my popularity for the party's benefit. But
the party wanted me to put on the mask of the party. It
is not possible for me.
Did anyone ask you to put on the AIADMK mask?
I am loyal to the party and its supremo but beyond
that, I don't know how to act. I am not a 100 per cent
politician. I joined politics because I do a lot of social
service and politics gives me more power to do that. I
run a public charitable trust. Every year, I spend Rs 5-
6 lakh on charity. Every month, I make the
arrangements for the burial of 15-20 unclaimed
bodies in hospitals. I am a regular blood donor. So,
politics is not a profession for me.
I have never fallen at her feet and I know she doesn't
expect me to do so. I requested her to be there for my
daughter's wedding and also do the puja of my son's
first film but she didn't come for either. These are
personal things.
My brother's wife is an officer of the Indian
Administrative Service, so she had invited the Chief
Minister (M Karunanidhi) for her son's wedding. As
the eldest in the family, I received the chief minister
with respect. That was construed as a big mistake!
How did Jayalalithaa get to know about the CM
attending the wedding?
There is a team to convey such news to her! In 2006,
I was the vice-chairman of the International Film
Festival here. For that festival, Dayanidhi Maran was
invited. Because I shared the dais with Maran, she
refused to come to my 5000th show, though I had
publicised her likely presence. On the same day, I
changed my show's number and celebrated it as my
5007th show!
These are the kind of punishments you get in this
party. I cannot surrender myself to the party. I cannot
say AIADMK is my life. I have so many other
important things in my life. Meeting opposition party
members cannot be construed as a crime.
Were you summoned?
No, I was not summoned. All they do is ignore you. I
have been ignored completely from 2006.
Do you feel that politicians of Tamil Nadu lack
maturity?
You cannot say they are immature. When you say
they are not mature, it comes closer to maturity! You
may belong to a different party and you may have a
different opinion. But that does not mean that you look
at the other person as your enemy. You see Advani
and (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi [Images] standing
side by side but you won't see such a thing in Tamil
Nadu.
Are you planning to join the BJP now?
Which party would want S Ve Shekher? I don't want
to repeat the mistake I made earlier, so I will take a
decision after a lot of deliberation because I want to
be part of that party forever. I don't want to be a local
person; I want to go to Delhi [Images].
Are you planning to resign from the AIADMK?
Definitely. Now, I will give a memorandum to the chief
minister asking for seven per cent reservation for the
Brahmin community (he submitted it on March 30). If
the government appoints a committee, I will resign
from the Mylapore constituency. In a by-election, it is
always the ruling party that wins.
Why do you feel Brahmins need reservation in
Tamil Nadu?
Why should they not get reservation? In Tamil Nadu,
69 per cent of the people get reservation and ninety
five per cent of people enjoy some kind of reservation
except the forward community. Where is social
justice? There are over 40 lakh Brahmins in Tamil
Nadu. It is the government's duty to give equal
opportunities to everyone. Brahmins have been
eliminated, insulted and sidelined in so many ways.
You cannot punish people for what happened over
50-60 years ago.
Now that you are talking to the press about your
decision to quit, what is the feedback that you are
getting from your party chief?
You don't know the AIADMK. Once the party starts
ignoring you, they don't bother about what you do.
Usually, people switch parties when they have some
case regsistered against them. I have never been
booked for anything -- not even for riding double on a
bicycle. I am an MLA but I don't go in the opposite
direction on a one-way street, I don't park in a no-
parking zone. I am a 100 per cent law abiding citizen.
Once I decide to quit, I will send a letter to the party
supremo and I will conduct a sms poll on the decision.
I will hold a public meeting in my constituency as I feel
I have a responsibility to the people who voted for me.
At the public meeting, I will tell the people how I joined
the party, why I am resigning and what I will do now.