Celebrations broke out in the DMK with party chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin turning 70 on Wednesday, even as the party chief set the tone for a strong anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) front at the national level.
The DMK chief laid wreaths at the memorials of former chief ministers M Karunanidhi and CN Annadurai on the Marina beach front and offered floral tributes at the memorial of reformist leader Periyar EV Ramasamy.
The DMK organised several events, including giving gold rings to newborns, saplings to farmers, holding blood donation camps and eye camps, community baby showers, providing notebooks to students, organising community lunches to celebrate Stalin’s birthday.
Stalin on Wednesday announced free laptops to all secondary and higher secondary teachers of the state. The Chief Minister also announced educational tours abroad to teachers who implement government schemes.
Educational expenses for children of teachers studying in higher education will be hiked to Rs 50,000. The chief minister said the projects will be implemented at a cost of Rs 225 crore.
The DMK chief, meanwhile, rejected any attempt to form a third front or an alliance without the Congress or go in for a post-poll coalition.
The DMK leader urged regional parties not to allow “state politics to come in the way of national-level unity”, at a public meeting in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjuna Kharge, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav. Unless this is done, “we will be the losers”, he said.
“Talks of a third front are pointless,” Stalin categorically said. An alliance without the Congress should be rejected as it would not succeed. “The 2024 parliamentary elections is not about deciding who should come to power, but about deciding who should not come to power,” he said.
“An alliance after the elections will also be practically impossible,” he pointed out, and appealed to all political parties opposed to the BJP “to understand this simple electoral arithmetic and stand united.”
Accusing the BJP of seeking to create a unitary and autocratic government through communal and fascist ideals, he said if the feeling of unity was achieved, “we can assume that we can win”.
The DMK leader said his birthday celebration should be a platform for opposition parties that are waging an ideological war against the BJP to chalk out the strategy for it. “I appeal to the national leaders here to carry this message to Delhi. Convey this message to the entire sub continent. Insist on the need for unity and create a base for victory. Let us sow this for now and let next year March be the harvest season for Indian politics,” Stalin said.
