- 11 minutes ago
A panel of political analysts and commentators, including Sanjeevi Sadagopan, Rangaraj Pandey, and R. Kannan, examine Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay's official visit to London. The discussion focuses on evaluating whether the trip successfully secured foreign direct investments or merely generated optical headlines and fan engagements. Panelists note that the ₹15,000 crore investment agreements involved companies already present in India and question the lack of a transparent official schedule. As Rangaraj Pandey observed regarding the investment outcome, 'I would call this is not neither a failure nor a success, and it's a tie.' The debate further delves into the government's communication strategy, administrative priorities, and comparisons with neighbouring states in attracting global corporate investment.
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NewsTranscript
00:00High on optics, but did it also deliver?
00:04Was Chief Minister Vijay's London trip a success or a failure?
00:09To decode that, joining me on this broadcast,
00:11we've got Sanjeevi Sadagopan, political analyst.
00:13Mr Rangaraj Pandey is also with us on this broadcast.
00:16Mr R Kandan, author and commentator, also with us.
00:19Panakam, thank you all very much for your time.
00:22Mr Rangaraj Pandey, I'd like to begin with you.
00:23What did you think, sir, of the Chief Minister's London visit?
00:26A lot of photo ops, a lot of headline pictures that you could get
00:31from the meetings and the fan craze and all of that.
00:34But beyond that, what did you think?
00:36If at all it is related to the investment,
00:39I would call this is neither a failure nor a success.
00:42And it's a tie. You can call it a drop.
00:45So for 15,000 crores, you need not to go all along to London
00:49and spend more than 10 days there.
00:51And most of the companies which we got the investments
00:53already existing in India, even a few companies
00:56are existing in Tamil Nadu itself.
00:58So there is nothing new.
00:59And other things, and spectacular things,
01:01and meeting Mr Ajit, his old friend,
01:04and starting that inaugurating the car race,
01:08all those are interesting things.
01:09And we learned that some other assignments
01:13also might be there.
01:14So according to that investment portion,
01:16we can call it a tie, neither success nor failure.
01:19And starting the inaugurating the race and all,
01:23it's a spectacular one, very interesting one.
01:25That's it.
01:25So I don't see any significance in this trip.
01:29For this 15,000 crores,
01:31the cheap nature can make it from land itself,
01:34in Tamil Nadu itself, in India itself.
01:36So there were, of course,
01:38every other state's making,
01:39getting the investments more than
01:41lakhs and lakhs and crores
01:42by calling that vibrant Gujarat
01:45and Rajasthan and even Telangana and other countries,
01:47all these governments are making,
01:49getting huge investments
01:51on their own state itself.
01:53So making this huge trip for a long time,
01:56I think it is replicating the previous DMK government,
02:00how Mr. MK is telling the ex-Chief Minister
02:02making the travel
02:03and getting the investments more.
02:06Peanuts,
02:07and you know that more than 2, 3 lakh crores budget,
02:1015,000 crores of investment is not a huge one.
02:13So I don't see any significance in this trip.
02:17No, you're right.
02:18There have been a lot of questions on the investments,
02:20which is why, Mr. Kannan,
02:22do you think this London visit
02:24was more about boosting brand Vijay,
02:27whether it's in the pictures of the craze
02:29of the fans outside where he was staying
02:31or at the event of the racing event with Ajit
02:34versus the actual investment takeaways?
02:39Well, this trip was a bit of a dance
02:42when it comes to investment.
02:44It is a...
02:47Mr. Kannan, I apologise.
02:50I'm having a bit of a problem with your audio,
02:51so I'm going to ask my team to fix that.
02:53Give us a couple of moments.
02:54I'll bring in Sanjeev in the meanwhile
02:56and hopefully by then we'll have Mr. Kannan's audio fixed.
02:58Sanjeev, what did you think
03:00of the Chief Minister's London visit?
03:02Would you brand it a success
03:03or do you think that there was merely optics,
03:06nothing more?
03:08Well, there's so much expectations
03:10before the departure of Chief Minister Vijay, right?
03:13Like three days before,
03:14there was a news about him participating
03:15in the Silverstone event
03:17with his counterpart, Ajit,
03:20which was a very...
03:22a big treat for the fans, okay?
03:24That is okay.
03:25That is a part and parcel of his own trip.
03:27But after that,
03:28we're expecting that the premium
03:29will bring a lot of investments.
03:31But unfortunately,
03:32whatever Raghraj Pandey has said,
03:33it's only 15,000 crores.
03:34So what will we expect from Chief Minister?
03:37We'll expect Chief Minister to meet
03:39someone from the portion finder, right?
03:41But all these companies,
03:42out of the three companies,
03:43two companies are from India.
03:45One company has its headquarters in Noida
03:46and other has headquarters in Chennai itself,
03:49in Tamil Nadu itself, right?
03:51So in that case,
03:52like how can we call it a success?
03:53This is definitely not a success.
03:54Yesterday, Chief Minister had a meeting
03:56with CEOs of Indian-based companies,
03:59including your Ashok Lelian,
04:01your Hindija Group,
04:02and also another company called Finalex.
04:04So why should he go to UK
04:07to meet Indian CEOs in UK, right?
04:09Because the minimum,
04:11what the Chief Minister can bring,
04:12at least have meetings with the CEOs
04:15of world companies,
04:16big companies,
04:17including your portion finder.
04:19So whatever that was expected
04:20to not happen there.
04:21No, so then I think
04:22there have been a lot of questions
04:24about whether this was an official trip
04:26or whether it was planned
04:27to be aligned with this racing event,
04:30with a fan greet event,
04:31which ultimately didn't happen.
04:33But Mr. Kannan,
04:33you're back with us.
04:34My apologies for earlier.
04:35Please go ahead, sir.
04:42Mr. Kannan?
04:47Okay, I don't think Mr. Kannan
04:49can hear me.
04:50We're just going to fix that.
04:51My apologies once again.
04:52We'll go back to him.
04:53But Mr. Rangaraj Pandey,
04:55you know,
04:55if I were to view what's happened,
04:57and especially this one incident
04:58where you had these huge crowds
05:01gathering on the streets of London
05:03to see the Chief Minister.
05:05And so globally now,
05:06there's a lot of talk about
05:07who is Chief Minister Vijay.
05:09So do you think the TVK ultimately,
05:11I'm not talking about the government,
05:13but the TVK will brand this visit
05:15a success
05:16because you've got
05:17all those headline moments?
05:19They have to claim it as a success,
05:21not only because of
05:22the London trip or the investment,
05:24but the fan following also.
05:26Of course,
05:26we are all aware that
05:27Mr. Vijay is not only a politician,
05:29of course,
05:29he's a very recent-time politician,
05:31but long-time star of Tamil Nadu.
05:33And not only Tamil Nadu,
05:35the whole South States
05:36is completely aware of that.
05:37And including myself,
05:39most of the Tamil people
05:41are fans of Mr. Vijay.
05:43So obviously,
05:44when he visits
05:45some other country,
05:46the local people,
05:47all Tamil,
05:47whether they are fans or not,
05:49everybody will like to meet
05:50Mr. Vijay,
05:52see Mr. Vijay,
05:53because we know that
05:54Mr. Vijay is not appearing
05:55every other day
05:56like other politicians,
05:58like Karnanadi,
05:59Stalin,
05:59Vijay Gant,
06:00and Andumani,
06:01Ramadas,
06:02and Seaman,
06:02all those people,
06:03including Jairudha,
06:05they were all meeting
06:06the people every other day.
06:07But we can see that
06:09Mr. Vijay is limiting
06:10his public appearance
06:11very rarely.
06:12So obviously,
06:13you cannot expect
06:15Mr. Vijay to visit
06:16London every other time.
06:18So obviously,
06:19that will be a huge
06:19pro to speak in.
06:20Sai, it was ill-timed?
06:21You know,
06:22did he head to London
06:23too early
06:24as Chief Minister?
06:26Should he have waited?
06:27Because in investments,
06:27obviously,
06:28when you're 100 days old
06:29as Chief Minister,
06:30it's going to take time
06:30for those investments
06:31to come in.
06:32Did he rush into this?
06:33As I already told,
06:34there is no significance
06:35and it is not a failure.
06:36Neither a failure,
06:37nor a success.
06:37But you cannot call that
06:38you have to visit
06:39only this time,
06:40you have to visit
06:41the next month.
06:41It is not the case.
06:42So even,
06:43we have seen
06:44Prime Minister Mr. Modi
06:46travelling throughout
06:47the globe
06:47and meeting the CEOs
06:49and all.
06:49There might not be
06:50No, but there's a lot
06:51more transparency,
06:52sir, in those visits.
06:53You'll have
06:53minute-by-minute
06:54schedules of what
06:55the Prime Minister
06:56is up to.
06:57In this case,
06:58should that also
06:58have been there?
06:59You know,
06:59on a daily basis,
07:00we didn't know
07:01what meetings
07:01were taking place.
07:02I got your point.
07:03Just I wanted to
07:03make the point that
07:04whenever Mr. Prime Minister,
07:06Mr. Modi is travelling
07:07across the globe,
07:08every time he will not
07:09bring the investments.
07:10But that will be
07:10creating a huge rapport.
07:12So investment
07:12is a separate pass.
07:13And of course,
07:14we have to accept
07:15and agree that
07:16every individual
07:17will have their
07:18private life also.
07:19So you need not
07:19to ask every minute.
07:21And we have seen
07:21Mr. Rahul Gandhi
07:22travelling the globe
07:24sometime completely
07:25private trips
07:25and not known to anyone.
07:27So we have to
07:28appreciate,
07:29we have to respect
07:29their privacy also.
07:30Sir, but this was
07:31considered an official trip.
07:33Of course,
07:34every official.
07:35Again, I will bring
07:36the Prime Minister's
07:37example.
07:38Whenever Mr. Prime Minister
07:39Modi is travelling
07:41inside India,
07:42he will have one
07:43official,
07:44the Prime Minister's
07:45capacity will have
07:46an official meeting.
07:47And another time,
07:48he will have a public
07:49meeting in the BJP
07:50president's capacity.
07:51So that will be
07:52a full ticket
07:53and that will be
07:53official.
07:54So it will be there.
07:55Whenever Mr. Vijay
07:56is having,
07:56he should visit
07:57only official things.
07:58He should not meet
07:59any personal friends.
08:00He should not have
08:01his private time.
08:02We should not
08:02expect like that.
08:03Just because of
08:04their public life,
08:05they need not to
08:06sacrifice their
08:07private life.
08:07Okay.
08:08He has a right to
08:09privacy.
08:10You know,
08:10even this racing event,
08:12many opined that,
08:13look, he's in London.
08:14This event was
08:15taking place and
08:16every chief minister
08:17is allowed some
08:18downtime.
08:18Maybe this was
08:19his downtime.
08:20The only question
08:20I'm asking is
08:21whether, you know,
08:22every single day,
08:23what was his schedule
08:24as chief minister
08:25should that have
08:25been released?
08:26Mr. Kannan,
08:26hopefully third
08:27time's the charm.
08:28I hope you can
08:28hear me.
08:29Your comments, sir.
08:31I think this whole
08:32trip is shrouded
08:33in a lot of
08:35mystery.
08:36It's a bit
08:36confounding.
08:37It's not clear to me
08:39why the chief
08:40minister should have
08:41undertaken this trip
08:42at this time.
08:43When he's just
08:44settling down,
08:45his team is
08:45settling down.
08:46And there are
08:47so many issues
08:48that have to be
08:49dealt with here.
08:51by him.
08:52And I remember
08:53yesterday happened
08:54to be the late
08:56chief minister
08:57on Nadurai's
08:57birthday.
08:58When he went
08:59on his first
09:00U.S. trip
09:01after he became
09:02chief minister,
09:04he didn't take
09:04the house
09:05into confidence
09:06initially.
09:07Then when he
09:08did so,
09:09he said he was
09:10pretty embarrassed
09:11to speak about
09:12his U.S. trip
09:13because these
09:14questions as to
09:15there were so
09:16many issues in
09:17Tamil Nadu that
09:18he had to deal
09:18with and why
09:19this trip would
09:20have arisen.
09:21But he was
09:21going as a
09:22guest of the
09:22United States
09:24government.
09:24So this is a
09:27very new
09:27government.
09:28It has,
09:29people have
09:30brought them
09:31here to usher
09:32in change.
09:33And a lot is
09:34expected of this
09:35government.
09:36But the way
09:36this government
09:37has gone about
09:38things leaves
09:40much to be
09:40desired.
09:41To begin with,
09:42there is no,
09:43there's not much
09:44transparency,
09:45there's no
09:46attempt to
09:47communicate to
09:48the people.
09:50It's a bit
09:51disappointing.
09:52The argument
09:53but Mr.
09:53Kannan would be
09:54like, I'll take
09:55the example of
09:56the recent
09:56allegation of
09:57corruption over
09:58a tender,
09:59over which
09:59immediately in
10:0024 hours or
10:01less than that,
10:02there was a
10:03crackdown in
10:04Tambaram.
10:04I'm sure you're
10:05aware of what
10:05really happened.
10:06So while there's
10:07criticism, there's
10:08also praise that
10:09comes in that
10:09look on the
10:10corruption front,
10:10Vijay seems to
10:11be doing the
10:11right thing.
10:13No, I
10:14completely agree
10:14and that is
10:15the only reason
10:17many I think
10:19would want him
10:19to succeed
10:20because there
10:20must be a
10:21sea change in
10:22the culture
10:22and the DNA
10:24the way the
10:25Tamils do
10:26business.
10:27This has to
10:27change.
10:28There must be
10:29probity in
10:30public life,
10:31there should be
10:31cleanliness.
10:32But the way
10:33this, I mean
10:34his leadership,
10:36he has, you
10:38know,
10:39demonstrated his
10:40leadership in
10:41these last
10:41four months.
10:43It's a mixed
10:44bag.
10:44It's not that
10:45even.
10:46I mean,
10:46drawing up
10:47legislators from
10:48other parties to
10:49boost his
10:51strength.
10:52There is so
10:53much that is
10:53not said.
10:54And we don't
10:55know how
10:56exactly this
10:57government reaches
10:58certain decisions.
11:00All this is
11:01unclear.
11:01There is so
11:02much opposition
11:03to the
11:04decision to
11:04build a
11:05secretariat in
11:06the heart of
11:07the city.
11:08Why does he?
11:09There's a
11:10controversy over
11:11that as well.
11:11You're right.
11:12So there are
11:12questions over
11:13that.
11:14Doesn't he have
11:15a responsibility,
11:16doesn't his
11:16government have
11:17a responsibility to
11:18communicate to
11:19the people or
11:19those who object
11:20to this as to
11:21why he had
11:22reached this
11:23decision?
11:25You are
11:25stonewalled.
11:26You're stonewalled
11:27completely.
11:28This is what we
11:29get from this
11:30government and
11:31there's so much
11:31hope and a lot
11:33of people want
11:33him to succeed.
11:35Yeah.
11:35Sanjeevi, what
11:36do you think?
11:36You know, would
11:37you have liked more
11:38transparency on this
11:39trip and the
11:39reason I ask that
11:40is, look, someone
11:41like Vijay, a
11:42superstar, has
11:42always been
11:43extremely private
11:44about his life.
11:45Now he's in
11:46public life.
11:46The spotlight is
11:47on him.
11:48Do you think
11:48there's a question
11:49of him kind of
11:50getting used to
11:50that or trying to
11:51find a bridge
11:52between the two
11:52where he still
11:54has his privacy
11:55but at the same
11:56time is the
11:56chief minister of
11:57a state and
11:58there's a certain
11:58level of
11:59transparency expected
12:00with that?
12:01Of course, even
12:02before his
12:03departure, there
12:03were so many
12:03controversies about
12:04his schedule,
12:05right?
12:05Even the day
12:06morning before
12:07he departed,
12:08many journalists
12:09from Chennai were
12:09tweeting that the
12:10official schedule of
12:11chief minister was
12:12not released to
12:12the media, right?
12:13Where is he
12:13going?
12:14Because he's
12:14going to go with
12:15the public money
12:16to get investments
12:17for the country,
12:17for the state.
12:19And secondly, I
12:20see so much of
12:21TBK people drawing
12:23a parallel between
12:23the former chief
12:24minister M.K.
12:25Stalin and
12:27current chief
12:28minister, CEO,
12:28Vijay, stating that
12:30Stalin was able to
12:31bring only 10,000
12:31crore investment
12:32during his first
12:33visit, but Vijay
12:34was able to
12:34bring a signed
12:36memorandum with
12:3615,000 crore,
12:37worth of 15,000
12:38300 crores.
12:38I think that
12:39should not be a
12:40benchmark, right?
12:41Your benchmark
12:41should be your
12:42neighboring state,
12:43Andhra Pradesh.
12:44You have a chief
12:44minister, a vibrant
12:45chief minister like
12:46Chandrabavan Aidu,
12:49who is
12:50pioneering in this,
12:50right?
12:51Because not
12:51immediately, like
12:52in 20, 20
12:53years ago, he
12:54went to US and
12:56he met Bill
12:56Gates and made
12:57sure Microsoft
12:59was opened in
13:00Hyderabad, which
13:02changed the
13:03entire landscape
13:03of Hyderabad from
13:04there, right?
13:05Even recently, he
13:06visited Singapore
13:07and there are a
13:09lot of investments,
13:10right?
13:10Investments with
13:11worth of 15
13:12billion crores,
13:13which happened
13:13recently.
13:14He bought a
13:15data center in
13:16Ustakapitnam and
13:17they're also going
13:18to soon have a
13:19rocket center near
13:21Sriharikota, rocket
13:22city.
13:23So these are the
13:24kind of investments,
13:25you know, if you
13:26compete with a
13:28state like
13:28Andhra Pradesh and
13:29not with the
13:30previous government,
13:31right?
13:31You can't keep
13:32saying, okay, DMK
13:33did not do, so you
13:34can't bring the
13:35comparison here because
13:36people have already
13:36chosen you.
13:37So the competition
13:38should be happening
13:39with the neighboring
13:39states and not with
13:40DMK anymore.
13:41This is a highly
13:44competitive time that
13:44we're talking about,
13:45Mr. Rangaraj Pandey.
13:46You did highlight the
13:47fact that, you know,
13:47on the investment
13:48front, a lot more
13:49should have perhaps
13:50come in for
13:51Tamil Nadu.
13:52Why do you think
13:52that is?
13:53Do you think that
13:53this is because it's
13:54the first trip of the
13:56chief minister and so
13:57you can't have very
13:58sky-high expectations?
14:00This is the first of
14:01many visits by the
14:02chief minister.
14:02The challenge is that
14:04you have a highly
14:04competitive environment
14:06like Andhra Pradesh
14:06constantly pushing for
14:08those investments and
14:09in such a time there
14:10will be a spotlight on
14:11chief minister Vijay and
14:12what he's bringing to
14:12the table.
14:13We have to agree that
14:15Andhra Pradesh,
14:16Telangana, Karnataka,
14:17Gujarat,
14:18Maharashtra,
14:19Tamil Nadu, all the
14:20states are performing
14:21well in bringing the
14:22investments and the
14:23GDPR constantly,
14:24not suddenly.
14:25And we have to,
14:26we cannot compare an
14:28apple with orange.
14:29We know that Mr.
14:30Chandrawahunayi is not
14:32a first-time politician,
14:33not a party,
14:34telepathy is not a very
14:36recent party and they
14:37have a very good
14:37experience in the
14:38governance,
14:39obviously,
14:40and we know very well
14:41that the investments
14:42are not happening
14:43within a month or
14:44a hundred days.
14:45Nobody will try to
14:46invest it.
14:47There will be a huge
14:48time they will take
14:49and they will discuss
14:50about and the
14:51previously there might
14:52be some wrong opinion
14:53about the DMK regime
14:54so the people might
14:55not be,
14:56might be hesitate to
14:57invest in Tamil Nadu.
14:58So now we have to
14:59convince that it is a
15:00new government,
15:00a new scenario.
15:01You can trust the
15:02Tamil Nadu government
15:03and you can come in.
15:03So a lot of lobbying
15:05should be,
15:05has to happen.
15:06So it will take time.
15:07You cannot expect that
15:09it is not a film,
15:10no,
15:10it is not a cinema
15:11that Mr. Vijay,
15:13the hero is going
15:14there and bringing
15:15everything,
15:16bringing the terrorists
15:17everywhere and dealing
15:18with all these things.
15:19You cannot expect
15:20it is not a cinema.
15:21So a practical life
15:22it will take some time
15:23and as Mr. Sanjeevi
15:25rightly said,
15:26there is a huge
15:27competition,
15:28I think and I hope
15:29and I wish that
15:30this government
15:32match the expectations.
15:33But not only,
15:35not only about Vijay,
15:37the Tamil Nadu
15:37as a whole,
15:38it is the best place
15:39for investment.
15:39It is not about TV care,
15:41it is not about the DMK.
15:41I agree, I agree.
15:42Tamil Nadu is the best place
15:43to invest.
15:44So obviously,
15:45investors will prefer
15:46Tamil Nadu,
15:46I strongly believe.
15:47The state very clearly
15:48is doing very well
15:49but also has much
15:50more potential,
15:51is in a very highly
15:52competitive environment.
15:53Mr. Kannan,
15:54final question to you.
15:56Ultimately,
15:56are we being too harsh
15:58or too fast
15:59to judge
16:00Chief Minister Vijay?
16:01This is after all
16:02his first official
16:03trip for investments.
16:05Sanjeevi drew
16:06that comparison
16:06that many of the
16:08TVK supporters
16:09have been speaking
16:09off on social media,
16:11highlighting what
16:11M.K. Stalin
16:12brought in
16:12in his first trip
16:13for investments
16:14versus what
16:14Chief Minister Vijay
16:15secured.
16:17No, I think
16:18I completely agree
16:19that Vijay
16:21should be more ambitious,
16:22in fact,
16:23incredibly ambitious
16:24because when he
16:26spoke at the
16:27Nithya Yoga
16:28meeting,
16:29when he participated,
16:31he outlined the vision
16:33whereas the earlier
16:35DMK government
16:36had a $1 trillion
16:38economy as a vision
16:39to be attained
16:40by 2030,
16:41he actually
16:42pushed the goalpost
16:44by another five years
16:45and then said
16:46of,
16:47yeah,
16:48five years,
16:49I think,
16:49and then said
16:50it should be
16:50a $1.5 trillion
16:52economy.
16:53And then the way
16:53to go about it
16:54is to prepare
16:55towards it,
16:56is to,
16:57you know,
16:58systematically
16:59work towards this.
17:00This might have been
17:01a very premature
17:02trip in my
17:05thinking.
17:06I heard
17:07the Malaysian
17:09Prime Minister
17:09Anwar Ibrahim
17:11in one of his
17:12interviews say
17:13that the
17:14Chief Minister's
17:15office and
17:16the Minister's
17:17office couldn't
17:18agree on certain
17:19dates and so
17:20they tried to
17:20see that they
17:22would meet.
17:23So what is
17:24more important
17:25than meeting
17:26with the Malaysian
17:26Prime Minister
17:27that this
17:29Chief Minister
17:30should definitely
17:31make it to the
17:32UK at this time
17:33and not later
17:34or before?
17:35It's not clear.
17:36So I think
17:37the priorities
17:38of this
17:38government,
17:39I think they
17:39have their
17:40heart in the
17:40right place
17:41but they
17:42don't have
17:42the tools,
17:43they don't
17:43have the
17:44right advisors,
17:45they don't
17:45have the
17:46right sort
17:46of,
17:47I mean,
17:47their supporters
17:48are very
17:49young people,
17:49they know
17:50nothing about,
17:51all of these
17:52people are
17:52completely new
17:53to public
17:53life.
17:54I think an
17:56emotion attached
17:57to Chief
17:58Minister Vijay
17:58to him being
17:59the head of
18:00the state,
18:01you see that
18:01visible on the
18:02streets of
18:03London as
18:03well.
18:04Beyond that
18:04emotion,
18:05what are the
18:05tangible takeaways
18:06of this London
18:07visit?
18:08We'll have to
18:08see because
18:09once he returns
18:09I'm sure or
18:11I hope that
18:11the CMO then
18:12will give us
18:12more clarity
18:13on what really
18:14has been the
18:15win for
18:16Tamil Nadu
18:16from this
18:17kind of a
18:18visit.
18:18But we'll
18:19leave it to
18:19that Mr.
18:19Kandan,
18:20Mr.
18:20Rangaraj Pandey
18:21and Sanjeevi,
18:21thank you very
18:22much for your
18:22time for joining
18:23us here on
18:24India Today.
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