Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin on Sunday began his second consecutive term as President of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by exhorting party cadres to work “tirelessly” towards achieving the goal of winning all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state and in Puducherry, while cautioning them that the BJP could “stoop to any level” to win the elections.
Asking DMK cadres not to be “complacent” due to the party's victory in the 2021 Assembly polls, Stalin said the BJP was “struggling to breathe” in Tamil Nadu as the state knows the art of keeping politics separate from religion. He asked party functionaries to establish booth committees in the next two months to keep the party machinery well-oiled for the 2024 polls whose results should “place the DMK” in a “vital role” in national politics.
“The BJP will stoop to any level to win the 2024 elections. Since they have nothing to project as achievement, the BJP is trying to divide people in the name of religion and stoking spiritual passions. BJP is struggling to breathe in Tamil Nadu as its people know to separate religion from politics. BJP is also trying to take advantage of the split in AIADMK,” he said.
The DMK President also cautioned his party cadre to be wary of the “designs” by the AIADMK and BJP in the run-up to the 2024 elections. Though he did not make a mention of alliance partners in his speech, Stalin has been maintaining that the Secular Progressive Alliance led by the DMK and consisting of Congress and will fight the 2024 polls together.
Immediately after taking charge as President for a second term at the General Council, Stalin elevated his half-sister, Kanimozhi, as one of the five deputy general secretaries of the party.
Except for the appointment of the Thoothukudi MP, who replaces Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan following her resignation from the party last month, the party’s top leadership remains the same with Durai Murugan and T R Baalu getting elected unopposed as general secretary and treasurer respectively. I Periyasamy, K Ponmudy, A Raja, and Anthiyur Selvaraj are the four other deputy general secretaries of the DMK.
In his 20-minute acceptance speech, Stalin went emotional as he asked who he will turn to when senior party leaders and ministerial colleagues themselves, who should otherwise be standing behind him, place him in embarrassing situations through their actions and words.
Though Stalin did not take any names, the Chief Minister was clearly referring to controversial speeches and actions by former union minister A Raja, Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan, Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy, and Revenue Minister K K S S R Ramachandran that put the ruling party in the dock.
“Except our bedroom and washroom, everything else is a public space now. There is nothing like a private space. Party cadres should remember that there is a third eye (mobile phone) now. Every movement is being monitored. Words are very important, they can either bring you laurels or kill (others). We need to be very cautious while we speak,” Stalin said.
While Raja came under attack from the BJP for his comments on Manusmrithi, Ponmudy mocked the government’s flagship scheme of free travel for women in town buses at a time the party is opposing BJP using the term ‘freebie’ for social welfare measures.
“Great Tamil poet Ilango Adigal says the King will have to take responsibility for everything that happens in his country. While I face attacks from multiple corners, what do I tell when actions of party veterans and ministers bring me more problems? Who do I go and tell?
“I wake up every morning with a feeling whether there is any fresh trouble created by our people. Sometimes, this gives me sleepless nights. You can see this from my health. Your (leaders and cadres) actions should add to the party’s pride and not bring disrepute to it,” Stalin said in his address.
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