Embroiled in controversies, is M K Stalin politically bankrupt?

Stalin is unable to handle dissensions due to corruption

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the oldest political party in Tamil Nadu, is facing an internal sabotage. In a statistical format, the Council of Ministers of M K Stalin can be described as follows:

• Six of them are deserters from the ADMK.
• One of them is Anil Minister who said that the squirrel cuts the electric wire hence the power cut.
• Second, is Audio Minister P T R Thiyagarajan, who has a bad motor mouth. Unstoppable.
• Third, the elderly Durai Murugan and two others are hated by the young ministers who are with Udhayanidhi.

And that brings us to suggest that M K Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK supremo is in troubled waters. He is unable to control dissidents. Unlike his father M Karunanidhi, Stalin is unable to rise politically from a series of crises.

M K Stalin, whose ability to be a good administrator is taking a beating, with the Tamil Nadu government in political bankruptcy. The DMK, which returned to power after a decade in 2021 in Tamil Nadu is in its mid-term. Instead of an appraisal, if an analysis of DMK and its leader M K Stalin’s political maneourability in April 2023 were to be done, the gradation will be too poor. M K Stalin is not transparent like his father M Karunanidhi.

To list out major political crises for MK Stalin:-

1. ADMK, the principal opposition led by Edappadi Palaniswamay got recognition from the Election Commission and Supreme Court about his status as General Secretary of ADMK and allotted the prestigious two leaves poll symbol. It is a major setback to M K Stalin, as he visualized a political scenario in which O Pannerselvam who is chummy with the DMK might wage an endless legal battle to reclaim two leaves. That hope DMK lost.
2. In stunning revelations, the BJP state President K Annamalai with the active backup of Central BJP leadership brought out “DMK Files” in Chennai, which is somewhat similar video adoption of BJP producing “Congress Files” in New Delhi. DMK files video is a compilation of election affidavits of senior DMK leaders. But few allegations were new and supposedly provided by official sources from the Union government. Social media went to town while many ignored it. But close to this exposure, an alleged audio clip of a motormouth P T R Thiagarajan, the Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu, levelling a speculation charge of 30000 crores amassed by the first family. After 72 hours State government denied this audio clip.
3. Stalin announced that a life-size statue of former Prime Minister Viswanath Pratap Singh will be installed in Chennai for his services towards social justice. Why suddenly Stalin made it a political issue? When the state and Central Congress leaders began to murmur that V P Singh backstabbed Rajiv Gandhi as his Finance Minister with Bofors charges, was the main reason for the defeat of the Gandhi family in Indian history. After 1990, none of the members of the Gandhi family led the nation as Prime Minister. Buzz in Chennai is that a senior Congress leader called up DMK leaders to express their strong feelings. Does DMK intend to send V P Singh’s statue as a signal to Congress? When Congress is already fuming over M K Stalin hugging the Rajiv Gandhi killer Perarivalan who was released by the Supreme Court after three decades in jail.
4. In the last three days of the Tamil Nadu Assembly session, M K Stalin the Chief Minister brought two sensitive resolutions one after the other.
   First is on urging the Centre to amend the Constitution to extend statutory protection, rights, and concessions, including reservation, to Scheduled Caste members who have converted to Christianity. This has provoked many right-wing sympathizers and rightly so – the BJP lawmaker Vanathi Srinivasan, who opposed the resolution walked out with the other members of her party after Speaker of Tamil Nadu Assembly M Appavu expunged certain remarks made by her.M K Stalin said the government had held discussions and consulted legal experts before moving the resolution. “We have not done it in a hurry. The walkout by the BJP has confirmed that we have done it in an appropriate manner,” he said. He acknowledged that the Adi Dravidars continued to face caste atrocities even after conversion to Christianity.“According to the Constitution, those who have converted to any religion, other than Sikhism and Buddhism, cannot claim the Scheduled Caste status. When they remain as the Scheduled Castes historically, it is fair to extend them the benefits. They can get education and employment only through reservation…,” he argued.This will have a very bad impact on North Indian politics on how the DMK is perceived…Continuing in the Assembly debate Mr. Stalin felt that it was unfair to deny them the benefits of reservation, enjoyed by the other members of the same community, just because they had converted to Christianity. “While humans have the right to follow the religion of their choice, they cannot do it in the case of caste. Caste is not just about the identity of two different persons. On the other hand, it treats one as higher and the other as lower. It is not horizontal, but vertical. The philosophy of social justice is to use the same casteism, a tool of oppression, to provide reservation and uplift the victims of oppression. It is the objective of the ‘Dravidian Model government’ to follow in all aspects,” the Chief Minister said. Mr. Stalin said the correct stand should be to extend the political and constitutional rights and social justice to the Adi Dravidars who had converted to Christianity.Second, an important resolution that irked all allies of the ruling DMK party including CPM and CPI was a Bill seeking an amendment to the Factories Act, 1948, extending the daily working hours from 8 to 12 hours.

   To deal with politically sensitive issues with the consultation process. This is the narration of left-wing politics if you turn to the right wing. Repeated visits of Narendra Modi the Prime Minister to Tamil Nadu say three in four months, innumerable tours schedules of 25 Union Ministers, BJP chief Nadda visited twice since January to Tamil Nadu. The mega show of Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam after Varanasi Kashi Tamil Sangamam, Narendra Modi frequently phone talks with artisans or a snake charmer during his monthly audio radio show of Mann Ki Baat. 18 very ordinary Tamilians got Padma awards in the past ten years are a few points that BJP had made inroads in Tamil Nadu polity. This gradual and steady push by BJP is also an irritant to DMK especially to Dravida parties like DK, MDMK, and VCK.

M K Stalin, Chief Minister never misses an opportunity to heckle and criticize BJP and Narendra Modi in particular. M K Stalin is on record saying that in 2024, DMK is very particular about who should not become the Prime Minister. That is Narendra Modi. Stalin not only wrote such remarks in DMK’s official organ MURASOLI, a daily newspaper but also in frequent video messages to DMK Cadre.

DMK caught into serious trouble say in the second half of April 2023.

Tamil Nadu witnessed many explosive political developments in Tamil Nadu. In fighting in the ruling DMK party. Lots of DMK cadres getting killed. Open daredevilry of DMK functionaries in social media to threaten the bus operators, ration shop owners open acquisitions against the state Governor R N Ravi. Tongue lashing against North Indian migrants. Accusing them of just selling paani puri and samosas. But in the past decade, the migration of northeastern states students and youths are estimated to be 2 percent. That means roughly ten lakhs of Uttar Pradesh and Bihari bhaiyas in farming, construction, hospitality, and other sectors of industries in Tamil Nadu.

When you turn to the other side of the coin, the BJP leader Annamalai has a tremendous influence over youths in Tamil Nadu. BJP wants to go it alone in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Top leaders of the BJP are not endorsing the views of Annamalai. Tamil Nadu is the only state where the coalition is the order of electoral politics. Be it DMK or AIADMK. Either of them has the potential strength to stand alone. The reason is voting percentage of each party is below 25 percent. Unless alliances are formed, no chance of a single party running the state administration.

With the backdrop of the Karnataka Assembly elections which will have a moral binding on Tamil Nadu politics, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah has given an appointment to Edapati Palaniswamy on April 26, for a discussion in New Delhi on Tamil Nadu’s political climate. A manipulation master that – he is Amit Shah was on record that the BJP-ADMK alliance continues.

Will DMK in 2024 repeat the mistake of proclaiming Rahul Gandhi as the face of the Prime Ministership? Rahul Gandhi is disqualified, and not keen to apologize. At the same time, Nitish Kumar threw his hat in the ring. Recent confabulations in New Delhi of Nitish brokering for Congress with Arvind Kejriwal. DMK also losing its sheen among voters for its not fulfilling electoral promises of reduction of petrol and diesel prices.

BJP has evolved its strategies. To compensate for its possible saturated states from where BJP cannot maximize but look forward toward the South chunk of 120 Lok Sabha seats. BJP’s easy cakewalk in Karnataka. But tightrope walks in Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Where BJP is aiming to get 15 Lok sabha seats.

Both BJP and Congress look at Tamil Nadu as a fertile land for harvest.

Whichever side you may look at it, Tamil Nadu has geared up for 2024. But if BJP and Narendra Modi do a hat-trick in Lok Sabha, the State of Tamil Nadu will look eagerly forward to a fierce fight for the 2026 Assembly polls.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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R Rajagopalan

R Rajagopalan is a veteran journalist. He reported Parliament proceedings for Dinamani and Vaartha. Since 1980. A well known face in English TV debates. He Widely traveled with Presidents and Prime Ministers.

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