CM Stalin says no compromise on TN's rights, defends participation in NITI Aayog meet

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday said his participation in the NITI Aayog meeting was considering deliberations over India's growth plans.

He rejected accusations from opposition parties in this regard.

Writing to party cadres, Stalin said, as soon as the news of his participation in the NITI Aayog meeting on May 24 spread, political rivals were rattled and they began showing malice as usual.

Such opponents derived happiness by posing questions on his non-participation in the NITI meeting held in previous years, he said.

Also, they levelled allegations that he was meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in order to escape from the Enforcement Directorate's "action" following the central agency's searches in the state-run liquor corporation (TASMAC, Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation) premises in connection with an alleged scam, he said.

No other party has been targeted by central agencies, including the CBI and ED, like the DMK. Still, the party is only legally fighting against it in courts and has not surrendered like the main opposition party, AIADMK.

Stalin also wondered why his party, the DMK, should make compromises for the ED's action, which is based on FIRs for the alleged irregularities in TASMAC during the AIADMK regime.

However, the Dravidian model regime has also proven that ED's action in this regard violated the law, and the Supreme Court's stay directive confirms this, the chief minister said.

He said, notwithstanding such explanations, the opposition parties will only reiterate the same allegations without reforming themselves.

Stalin alleged AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami was the one who mortgaged his party with Union Home Minister Amit Shah following raids by central agencies on premises linked to relatives and business associates in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Dismissing opposition allegations, Stalin asserted that, be it support or opposition, DMK's stand had always been and would continue to be firm and resolute, and this was stated by none other than Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Seasoned national leaders, including Prime Ministers A B Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, were aware of such a feature of his party.

The chief minister said he decided to take part in the NITI meeting as it was intended to discuss India's future growth with chief ministers, and also considering that Tamil Nadu's share in the national growth was very significant during the past 4 years of Dravidian model regime.

PM Modi's interactions with CMs were quite natural in that meeting, and while the deliberations were about the journey towards a 30 trillion dollar economy by 2045, "I conveyed to the PM that Tamil Nadu's share will be 4.5 trillion dollars." Currently, Tamil Nadu's share in India's growth is about 10 per cent and it would go up to about 15 per cent, thanks to the Dravidian model government's initiatives, and this was conveyed with confidence in the meeting.

The DMK, similar to its vigorous pursual of the state's development goals (alongside national objectives, while in power) is also a truly patriotic organisation when it comes to national security, and this is the party's characteristic since the days of party founder CN Annadurai.

He recalled the tricolour rally led by him recently in Chennai to show solidarity with the Armed Forces against the background of Operation Sindoor. Also, he pointed to DMK MP Kanimozhi leading the Indian delegation to Russia.

Hence, "political standpoint is different and extending cooperation to the government (union government) considering welfare of the nation is different." In the same manner, the chief minister said he took part in the NITI Aayog meeting chaired by PM Modi to deliberate on growth goals. Stalin said he spoke on Tamil Nadu and batted for schemes and pending projects directly.

The DMK will not compromise on state's rights, and it is similar to its firm no-compromise stand on the protection of national interests. Slamming Palaniswami for "mortgaging" AIADMK, fearing "intimidation," he said, however, for his party, the DMK, "state's rights is primary, the first."