‘Failed’ NDA was restored out of compulsion, blackmail: Stalin

DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday took a dig at the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the AIADMK  and the BJP, saying a front that was rejected by the people had been renewed and projected as a “new alliance”.

“What has been restored is a failed alliance. This is merely a cosmetic attempt to give it a fresh build-up,” he said, speaking at the ‘Vellum Tamizh Pengal’ Cauvery delta zone-level DMK women’s wing conference at Sengipatti in Thanjavur district. The coming Assembly election, he said, would not be a fight between the NDA and the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, but between the “NDA and Tamil Nadu”. For, Tamil Nadu meant the DMK, “which truly works and fights for the people of the State”.

Mr. Stalin accused the NDA of attempting to impose itself on the State through coercive politics and false narratives. He claimed that parties had joined the NDA owing to pressure from Central government agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department, and the CBI. “With folded hands, they are hoping that the ‘washing machine’ will cleanse them,” he said.

He said the BJP-AIADMK combine had been decisively defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha and 2021 Assembly elections. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the two parties contested separately, but were rejected again by the electorate. “Despite the repeated verdicts, they have now glued together broken pieces that have been presented as the NDA. Everyone knows that this is an alliance born out of compulsion and blackmail, imposed against the wishes of genuine AIADMK workers,” Mr. Stalin said.

He said the BJP believed that it could rule Tamil Nadu remotely from Delhi by installing “puppets”. “For this, Tamil Nadu will give a fitting response.”

Accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of spreading falsehood during his recent visit to Tamil Nadu, Mr. Stalin countered the claim that there was no safety for women in the State. “Do not spread falsehood about Tamil Nadu while ignoring the situation in the BJP-ruled States,” he said, pointing to the prolonged violence in Manipur. Tamil Nadu, he said, was the safest State in the country. Seven cities in Tamil Nadu were among the top 25 in the list of Top Cities for Women in India released by Avtar Group (a private organisation), he said. He also questioned the effectiveness of the BJP’s “double-engine” model of governance, noting that peace had not been restored in the northeastern State despite the same party being in power at the Centre as well as in the State.

Mr. Stalin said the Dravidian movement was founded not only to fight caste discrimination but also to challenge the historical injustice meted out to women. He listed the key welfare initiatives implemented by the DMK government, including the Magalir Urimai Thogai, the Magalir Vidiyal Payanam, the Pudhumai Penn, loan waivers for self-help groups, and 50% reservation for women in rural local bodies. “The government itself is for women,” the Chief Minister said, adding that the DMK’s women workers now had the crucial role of taking the government’s achievements to the households.

DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said several forces were attempting to capture Tamil Nadu, including some from within the State. “But this is Thalapathy M.K. Stalin’s army. They will vote only for him,” she said.

Ms. Kanimozhi said the DMK government would take steps to do away with the ritual of the Governor reading out the policy address in the Assembly. “Every year, the Governor disrespects the elected government, and in doing so, disrespects the people of Tamil Nadu,” she said.

She reiterated the party’s long-standing position that the post of Governor itself was unnecessary. “Across the country, nearly ₹700 crore is spent every year on the Governors. The Union government is using them [the Governors] only to taunt non-BJP State governments and insult the people they represent,” she alleged.

DMK Youth Wing secretary and Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi  Stalin said that in the delta region, the Dravidian movement had historically stood for women’s emancipation, resistance to Hindi imposition, and social discrimination. Warning the people of “fascist forces” attempting to enter Tamil Nadu, he said there would be no protection for women or the State if such forces came to power. He accused the BJP of attempting to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act that had benefited Tamil Nadu and criticised the AIADMK leadership for supporting the decision.