Claiming that the AIADMK government was in a coma and that its survival was uncertain, DMK president M.K. Stalin on Sunday said his party will return to power with a resounding mandate in the next Assembly election.
Addressing a public meeting organised in Veerapandi to welcome 20,000 cadre from various political parties into the DMK, Mr. Stalin said, “The big victory of the DMK in the recent parliamentary election reflects the resentment of the people towards the AIADMK and BJP governments [in the State and at the Centre respectively].”
Noting that many had questioned the ability of the 38 newly elected MPs [including one in Puducherry], as the DMK was neither in power in the State nor at the Centre, he said MPs belonging to the DMK alliance had been raising various issues in Parliament. “They have stopped Hindi from being made compulsory in the Draft National Education Policy. They have applied pressure and made it possible to nullify the postal exams that were held only in Hindi [and English], and now, the Postal Department has promised to hold the exams in Tamil as well,” the DMK leader said.
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“The DMK will continue to put up a fight against all the efforts of the Modi government to override State rights. We will fight against destructive projects of the Centre like hydrocarbon exploration, neutrino and NEET,” he said.
He alleged that the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister were subservient to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. “We are in a position to safeguard the interests of Tamil language, people and culture,” he added.
Mr. Stalin said “all of them”, including Thanga Tamilselvan, who recently joined the DMK after quitting the Dhinakaran-led AMMK, had returned to the parent [Dravidian] organisation. He extended an invitation to the workers and functionaries of the AIADMK to join the DMK. “The present AIADMK is not the one founded by MGR. It has deviated from the Dravidian ideals of MGR and Jayalalithaa. The current leaders in the AIADMK invoke the names of MGR and Jayalalithaa only for their personal gain,” he said.
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Earlier, Mr. Thanga Tamilselvan hailed Mr. Stalin as a mature and seasoned politician. “Mr. Stalin is the only politician eligible to become the next CM, and only then [when he becomes CM], Tamil Nadu will see redemption from the clutches of the corrupt EPS-OPS leadership,” he said.