In what could be a birthday message to supporters of DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin, party president M. Karunanidhi on Saturday said he was not driven by any desire to become the Chief Minister of the State for the sixth time. Addressing a function organised on the eve of Mr. Stalin’s birthday that falls on March 1, Mr. Karunanidhi, who first became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in 1969, said he was not nurturing any desire to become the Chief Minister again.
“Those who spoke before me said I should be the Chief Minister for the sixth time. But I do not have any such desire. I only want to keep the DMK together to prevent it from falling prey to the attacks of its enemies,” he said. After the declaration of the Emergency in the country, his government was dismissed in 1976. Meanwhile, the AIADMK launched by M.G. Ramachandran became the ruling party and Mr. Karunanidhi had to wait for his third term till 1989.
The DMK government was dismissed again in 1991, but his government returned to power in 1996 and again in 2006. Mr. Karunanidhi on Saturday said he had participated in the function not just because he was the father of Mr Stalin, who had become the ‘ Thalapathi ’, but also to cherish the event organised to help the poor.
Even though Mr Karunanidhi had declared in no uncertain terms that Mr. Stalin would be his successor in the party on January 3 and January 6 in 2013, there was no clear indication from him on who would lead the party in the 2016 Assembly polls.
“I only want to keep the DMK together to prevent it from falling prey to the attacks of its enemies”