MK Stalin takes over as DMK chief, targets Centre & state

The post of DMK president fell vacant following the death of Karunanidhi, who was elected the party chief in 1969 after his political mentor C N Annadurai’s death.

Addressing DMK leaders after taking over, Stalin said he had never dreamt of becoming the DMK chief, and reached this position today with the support of all DMK leaders. “As a child, I used to hear (former chief minister) Annadurai’s speeches. I never thought I would speak one day (as DMK president),” he said.

Read | Road ahead for post-Karunanidhi DMK: New rivals, battlelines

Launching an attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, Stalin accused it of trying to saffronise the country. “The Narendra Modi government is trying to paint the nation in the colour saffron. Let’s teach it a lesson,” he said, according to PTI.

M K Stalin with Durai Murugan at the DMK’s General Council meeting in Chennai on Tuesday.

Stalin alleged that the central government was attempting to destroy the basic tenets governing the spheres of “education, art, literature and religion”. Accusing the Centre of going against the “ethos of secularism,” he said it also infringed the principles of democracy in matters related to judiciary, education and in appointment of Governors, PTI reported.

Taking on the AIADMK government in the state, Stalin, according to a PTI report, said: “We are anguished when we see the state government without the spine of self-respect and the Central government which infringes on social justice, rationalism and quality.”

Duraimurugan told The Indian Express that he worked under Annadurai and Karunanidhi for 54 years, and would now work under Stalin. “Like Kalaignar (Karunanidhi), Stalin is also a hard worker. He always thinks about politics. Even if he is not into literature and the literary world like Kalaignar, he is undoubtedly a leader capable of taking the lead and keeping this party alive,” he said.

M K Stalin with his sister and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi at the party headquarters in Chennai on Sunday (PTI Photo/File)

A senior DMK leader said Stalin’s elevation cannot be compared with that of other politicians’ children since he has worked from the grassroots level. “He started as a student campaigner for the party in 1967, worked as the party’s youth wing secretary, party deputy general secretary, treasurer and working present. He proved his political leadership and governance as the mayor of Chennai (1996-2001) and as the deputy CM (2006-2011). It has been a long way, and he never revolted to capture power — he deserves it,” the leader said.

While the entire party is behind Stalin, the lone voice challenging his leadership is that of his elder brother, M K Alagiri, who was sent to Madurai by Karunanidhi in the 1980s to look after the party’s affairs in central part of the state.

Removed from DMK for “anti-party activities” in 2014, Alagiri recently claimed that all true followers of Karunanidhi were in his camp, and that he has planned a show of strength in Chennai soon. But party insiders dismissed the rally as a one-time event. “Stalin wants to become the chief minister but Alagiri is clueless (about his ambition). He seems to have no solid plan except raising a challenge,” said a senior leader who is seen as close to both the brothers.

Before the meeting today, Stalin met his ailing mother, Dayalu Ammal, at the family’s Gopalapuram residence.