Now, Stalin as ‘PM material’, riding ‘social justice’ pitch

“Everything for everyone will be the basis of this federation. Let us meet often and uphold social justice,” Stalin said, while adding that social justice was the biggest gift of the Dravidian Movement to the nation.

The charitable aims of the federation aside, one of the clear messages from the meeting was that it was the DMK that was the natural party to lead such a front. As regional leaders across states vie to fill the space at the national stage vacated by the Congress, Stalin appeared to have pitched his own hat into the ring. One of the DMK leaders said as much, calling Stalin “an indispensable leader” and “Prime Minister material”.

At the meeting, Stalin spoke about the fight to get 27% reservation for OBCs in the All India Quota in state undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental colleges, and said: “I am very proud that the DMK made an immense contribution to this… The DMK filed a case in the Supreme Court in May 2020, the BJP government accepted this only in July 2021.”

Stalin went on to list other such “welfare” measures by DMK governments, citing the contributions of Dravidian patriarch Periyar, and former CMs Annadurai and M Karunanidhi.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate P Wilson, who represented the DMK on the OBC reservation issue, said the “Dravidian Model of everything for everyone” has to reach across India.

“Tamil Nadu has been the frontrunner for all social justice causes and movements… Our Thalapathy (Stalin) is on the same lines as his father and other Dravidian leaders… Today, a student from the Northeast is going to get the benefit of our OBC quota fight… The entire country will benefit from the decision of our CM. He has become an indispensable leader. I would say he is PM material,” he said.

Asked whether the DMK was thinking of venturing into other states as part of its social justice campaign, Wilson told The Indian Express: “Anything is possible. We had (H D) Deve Gowda as PM, so why not?”

Stalin’s pitch also comes against the backdrop of the BJP’s aggressive nationalism, which it has tried to bring into Tamil Nadu riding piggyback on AIADMK. The state where regional pride overrides other sentiments has so far resisted the BJP’s charms.

Congress leader and Chairman of State Minorities Commission S Peter Alphonse said leaders like Stalin are needed more than ever to protect the federal structure of the country. The Congress is an ally of the DMK.

“The BJP is trying to dominate the Indian political scene with religious issues. Few leaders can fight this tendency, and I am glad Stalin is doing so,” Alphonse said, adding that the DMK leader is “daring the risk” of alienating the Hindu vote by countering the BJP. “There are very few CMs who would do so and stand up for social issues, backward classes and the marginalised.”

Alphonse also claimed that youngsters in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh are among those interested in Stalin’s message, and have been sharing his views on social media. “He has captured the imagination of youth from north India.”

Earlier, Stalin had announced that the birth anniversary of Periyar would be celebrated as Social Justice Day, said people of all castes would now be appointed as priests in temples falling under the Hindu and Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, and personally gave the appointment letter to a woman odhuvar (who chants hymns before a deity) as part of 208 appointments of trained priests of all castes pending since 2007-08. (A scheme started under Karunanidhi, ithad come to a virtual halt under the AIADMK government.)

Vanathi Srinivasan, BJP Coimbatore South MLA, said it was the BJP that had exemplified social justice with the rise of Modi, an OBC, as PM. “If at all the DMK wants to celebrate the social justice movement, it should celebrate PM Modi. And when the DMK was in alliance with the Congress in power at the Centre, what did they do for backward communities?”