Former Chief Secretary P. Rama Mohana Rao on Saturday expressed his intention to launch a political party to give more meaning to inclusiveness among all classes of people in politics which alone, he said, would ensure social justice and overall development of the State.
The former bureaucrat, who was in the city on an invitation from the Tamil Nadu Naidu Mahajana Sangam to participate in the 437th birth anniversary celebrations of Mannar Thirumalai Naicker, told The Hindu that he wished to introduce a new approach to politics/public life where every section of society would have an opportunity to serve the society and contribute to growth.
Classifying his concept in five broad aspects, he said that he would stand as a voice of the unrepresented community in the political spectrum, be a part of the under-represented segments in public life, bring into mainstream politics excluded groups, give hope to these communities to join the forefront and identify the professionals in the unorganised sectors, such as construction workers among others.
Mr. Rao served as Chief Secretary and before that was Principal Secretary to then Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for a few years.
He said that communities which had more than a million voters in Tamil Nadu, had no political representation in the Legislative Assembly. Likewise, communities which had a population of 40 to 50 lakh voters, had just two MLAs in the Assembly. He further said that excluded groups, which had a voter population of about 20 lakh or less in the State, continued to be neglected by the Dravidian parties.
Agreeing that it was a Herculean task to instil confidence among various sections on the society, the former IAS officer however, said that he was determined to take his idea forward so that the next generation in all communities would not only benefit, but also be empowered in public life with a new leadership.
During the last six to nine months, Mr. Rao said he had been meeting people from different walks of life in Chennai, Erode, Salem and in Madurai. The interactions have been smooth. The participants welcomed the idea. “As of now, it looks like the goal is achievable...” he said in a confident tone and did not rule out allying with political outfits.
