Wherever there is scope, our people will go, says A K Antony. A 1978 interview

INTERVIEW

B.R.P. BHASKAR

We admit our mistakes: A.K. Antony

A.K. Antony, Congress chief minister of Kerala, came to power under unusual circumstances. Since his debut as one of the youngest chief ministers in the country last year, 37-year-old Antony has skilfully managed his mandate, though he might be running into trouble after the Congress split. His anti-Indira stance has become clearer, but his position in the state legislature is more vulnerable. In an exclusive interview with INDIA TODAY, Antony discusses his party's position in the state as well as his future plans.

While on leave in Kerala in 1978 -- I was heading the Samachar bureau in Srinagar at that time -- I interviewed Chief Minister A. K. Antony for India Today at the request of its then Editor, Chotu Karadia.

Asked about the possibility of a bipartisan approach to the state's development problems, Antony said, "Politics is a part of the social reality. How can it be avoided? Actually politics revolves round economic development."

In reply to a question on Keralites' dependence on overseas job markets. he observed, "Expansion is going on all the time. Maybe it will be the Moon where opportunities come up tomorrow. We do not see the world in compartments. Wherever there is scope, our people will go."

India Today carried my report of the interview, with excerpts, in its edition dated February 15, 1978.
The report, which appeared under the heading "We admit our mistakes: A.K.Antony" can be accessed at the India Today Archives.