A day after calling upon his party cadre to teach the Bharatiya Janata Party a lesson, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M.K. Stalin on Wednesday emphasised the need to work together with secular and democratic forces to defeat the “spineless AIADMK government” in Tamil Nadu and the “communal BJP” at the Centre.
In a statement, he said the “dictatorial rule” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was posing a great threat to the country’s integrity.
State autonomy
“It [the BJP regime] is undermining India in every possible manner and its attempts [in this direction] are being clearly felt in the socio-economic and linguistic fields. It has unleashed a war against ethnic groups and their language. The DMK will be at the forefront of coordinating with democratic and secular forces and will adopt a resolution for State autonomy in the Assembly,” the DMKleader said.
Mr. Stalin said the AIADMK government should be defeated in the next election for having “mortgaged the rights of the State to the communal BJP”.
‘Miles to go’
Noting that the Dravidian movement, which had completed a century, still had miles to go, Mr. Stalin said the DMK’s objective was to defeat both the BJP and the AIADMK in elections, whenever they were held.
“Our friendly parties are with us, and no one can drive a wedge between the DMK and its allies,” he said.
Mr. Stalin also condemned what he described as the Central government’s attempt to silence criticism.
“The brazen attempt by the Union government to imprison its critics reflects an authoritarian mindset that disregards civil rights. The space for dissent is essential to every democracy. I urge the government to drop all such unconstitutional actions immediately,” he tweeted.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Stalin, along with newly elected DMK treasurer Durai Murugan, met veteran CPI (M) leader N. Sankaraiah at his residence in Chennai and sought his blessings.
