T.N. Congress leaders must explain stance on ED, says M.H. Jawahirullah

With Congress national leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi contending that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is being used by the ruling BJP for “political vendetta”, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader M.H. Jawahirullah said on Friday that leaders of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee should explain their position on Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s citing ED documents to make allegations of corruption against the DMK in the Assembly recently.

In an interview with The Hindu, Mr. Jawahirullah said, “We know very well about the National Herald case. The Tamil Nadu’s Congress leaders should explain whether they are supporting the ED, which has been opposed by its national leadership,” he said.

Responding to a question about whether the minorities could find themselves making a difficult choice in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections as there could be two anti-BJP fronts – one led by the DMK and one led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Mr. Jawahirullah said the choice would be influenced by certain factors. “For 2029, a number of permutation and combinations are being considered…however, India is a secular, democratic and a socialist country. We will support the alliance which has the strength to strongly oppose the BJP. And that’s how Muslim community would also think.”

Mr. Jawahirullah said the DMK’s defeat in the Assembly polls could be due to its reluctance to criticise and attack the TVK during the electoral campaign. “If you analyse the DMK’s campaign, they attacked the AIADMK’s ideological inconsistencies, but they did not criticise the TVK. We were also instructed not to speak about Vijay. They didn’t want to admit that the TVK is a force to be reckoned with. They underestimated him. They should have spoken about Vijay’s political stance, and what happened before Karur and how he behaved in the aftermath of the Karur tragedy,” he contended.

Though Mr. Jawahirullah appreciated Mr. Vijay’s open declaration that the BJP was his party’s ideological enemy, he recalled, how, in a particular instance, a TVK Minister insisted that a comment critical of Union Home Minister Amit Shah made by Social Justice Minister, Vanni Arasu, be expunged from the Assembly records.

CM’s Assembly speech

“I have been in the Assembly when Jayalalithaa and M.K. Stalin served as Chief Ministers. Both used to severely oppose their political opponents, but their criticism fell within the traditions and dignity of the Assembly, and they responded to the criticism made by the members of the House. However, strangely, the present Chief Minister holds the Municipal Administration portfolio. He should have either presented the Demand for Grants for it or at least have responded to the questions related to that department during the debate,” he said.

“Similarly, a number of “Call to Attention” motions were brought up in the Assembly regarding law and order issues, Mr. Vijay has the responsibility to respond to those. He did respond to some issues raised during the debate. We must look at his speech and compare how much he spoke on issues raised by the MLAs, and how much he spoke on unrelated issues — such as the Sarkaria Commission report. How is it even relevant to the Demand for Grants?” the MMK leader questioned.