DMK makes space for daughter

She pointed out how Jayalalithaa accorded a red carpet welcome to Modi after he was re-elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. “Like how the minorities suffer in Modi’s Gujarat, Jaya stifled any opposition including that from government employees,” said Kanimozhi, warning against bringing back the AIADMK regime.

The AIADMK chief and her party have been in the forefront of agitations and litigations against the implementation of the controversial project that aims to dredge a channel through the Ram Sethu (Adam’s Bridge).

Now these parties along with other fundamentalist forces were coming together to oppose the implementation of SSCP, a project conceived for the welfare and development of the state, she said, echoing Karunanidhi’s earlier statements.

Reminding party cadres of the roots of Dravidian principles as propounded by elders like ‘Periyar’ E V Ramasamy, she said the first tenet of the atheist movement was ‘forget God’. The fundamental forces have united against the Sethu project, she said, urging all to support the project to defeat the fascist forces whose strength had reached “alarming proportions”.

“The Dravida Kazhagam raised the standing of south Indians through the self-respect movement. If we do not stand up now for the rights and freedom that the movement brought about, progress made over the years will be wasted,” she said.

The two-day conference, apparently organised to launch Kanimozhi as a political leader of the future, got underway at Cuddalore on Saturday. The mammoth women’s rally, witnessed by Karunanidhi and Kanimozhi among others, delayed Saturday evening’s proceedings by over four hours and deferred Kanimozhi’s address to Sunday.

Thousands of women, mostly clad in party colours red and black, thronged the venue Manjakuppam ground, which incidentally witnessed the launch of Jayalalithaa when she was made the propaganda secretary of the AIADMK by the then Chief Minister M G Ramachandran more than two decades ago. However, aware of the parallels drawn between her and Jayalalithaa, Kanimozhi said the venue was chosen as Cuddalore sent the first ever woman member to the Assembly.

While Kanimozhi is basking in the glory of the massive rally, another new face has emerged from the family. Karunanidhi’s granddaughter and his elder son M K Azhagiri’s daughter Kayalvizhi presented a paper on Saint Valluvar and Truth. A noted absentee was Karunandhi’s son and heir apparent M K Stalin, who is in London undergoing treatment.