DMK will unite India against despotism: CM Stalin

CHENNAI: Vowing to fight the ‘dictatorial’ tendencies of the BJP regime, mainly on the issue of delimitation, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday said that his party (DMK) would unite all of India against authoritarianism.

Cautioning that the BJP was conspiring to reduce the number of parliamentary seats in South India, which would reduce ‘our’ voice in the Parliament, Stalin, speaking at the “Tamil Nadu fights! Tamil Nadu wins!” protest organised in Tiruvallur, said, “Tamil Nadu will never bow to BJP. Even if we have to sacrifice our lives, we will never bow to BJP’s fascist actions! We will unite all of India against their authoritarianism.”

Remarking that the BJP’s caste-based politics denied social justice, authoritarianism crushed state autonomy, communal agenda threatened India’s secular fabric, and dictatorial approach undermined federalism, Stalin said, “If we do not resist now, we may never be able to resist in the future.”

“We will unite India under the principles of social justice, secularism, federalism, and state autonomy. Only through such unity can we save India. That is why the struggle “Tamil Nadu Fights! Tamil Nadu Wins!” will become a national movement,” the Chief Minister said, requesting the PM to stop imposing Sanskrit and start fostering India’s real growth.

“No matter how much BJP tries to suppress us, Tamil Nadu will fight, Tamil Nadu will fight till the end, and in the end — Tamil Nadu will win,” added Stalin, whose ministers visited stakeholder states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, Punjab and West Bengal to invite political parties for the joint meeting of multiple state parties to be held in Chennai on March 22.

Stalin has already written to 29 political parties of the seven states that would be affected by the delimitation exercise if it were done on the basis of current population figures.

Earlier in the day, State Forest Minister K Ponmudy met and invited Karnataka Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, while party MP Kanimozhi NVN Somu invited TMC MP Derek O Brien, State PWD minister EV Velu and DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson invited former Andhra CM Jaganmohan Reddy and K Venkata Krishna, officer on special duty to Andhra Chief Minister.

Siddaramiah extends full support against delimitation

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday extended support to the DMK-led opposition against the proposed delimitation of Parliamentary constituencies.

During a meeting with a delegation of DMK leaders here, the CM condemned the Centre's alleged attempt to "weaken" democracy and federalism.

The DMK leaders deliberated on raising their voices against delimitation and other issues while expressing solidarity with the protest.

"We condemn without hesitation all the actions of the Central Government that are against the interests of Karnataka, weaken democracy and go against the federal principle of the Constitution. We made our stand clear that we will support the struggle on this issue," the statement quoted Siddaramaiah as saying.

Shivakumar said he would discuss with the Congress high command regarding Tamil Nadu’s invitation to participate in the anti-delimitation meeting in Chennai.

Noting that DMK is the alliance partner of Congress, Shivakumar said, "We are in agreement with their stance on the delimitation exercise. As we are a national party, we need to discuss this with our party high command. We will decide on the next steps after seeking their advice."

The Deputy CM said he had informed the DMK leadership about the need to discuss with the high command.

"The delegation from Tamil Nadu discussed various aspects with us, including language. It is time we work together to uphold our self-respect," he added.

The DMK has been reaching out to leaders of different parties, including those also within the NDA like Chandrababu Naidu, to discuss the delimitation issue.