North India must be persuaded to tread path of south: Chidambaram

Hails southern States, barring Karnataka, for stopping the BJP juggernaut from rolling into the region

Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram. File

Hailing the southern States, barring Karnataka, for stopping the BJP juggernaut from rolling into the region, senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram has called upon the newly elected Members of Parliament to prevail upon their counterparts in the north to tread the path of south to protect secular and democratic values.

Addressing a public meeting to thank voters for electing his son and Congress candidate Karti P. Chidambaram here late on Friday, he said when the northern States overwhelmingly voted for the BJP-led front, the south stood firm against communalism, casteism and the BJP’s ‘pseudo nationalism’ to protect democracy and secularism.

The anti-BJP verdict given by the people of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry would go down in history, he said. Pointing that the north and the south chose different paths by giving different verdicts in the elections, Mr. Chidambaram said the south could not follow the north in its path but could bring the north to the path of the south.

“This is the task lying before the newly elected MPs from the south,” he said. The 37 MPs from Tamil Nadu had the responsibility to lead from the front to persuade the north to tread the path of the south, he said, adding the MPs should not be cowed down by the brutal majority of the BJP in Parliament.

The massive victory for the DMK-Congress alliance in Tamil Nadu became possible as the two parties had been together for about 48 years, since 1971. Political parties that changed colours like chameleons and forged ‘opportunistic alliances’ at the eleventh hour had suffered ignominious defeats in the elections, he said.

If the DMK-Congress combine worked with a similar determination, the front would win the coming local body elections and capture power after winning the Assembly elections, he said. “These are the two wars awaiting the front,” he added. Mr. Chidambaram thanked DMK leader M.K. Stalin and leaders of all alliance parties for Mr. Karti Chidambaram’s resounding victory.