A week after DMK supremo M Karunanidhi died, his son and party working president MK Stalin said he would follow in his father’s footsteps and “defeat all barriers”.
Speaking at the Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam’s (DMK) executive committee meeting on Tuesday, Stalin remembered his father and said it hurt that they failed to form the government when he was still alive.
“It is unbelievable to conduct an executive committee meeting without Thailavar (Karunanidhi). While you have lost your leader, I have lost my mentor and father… We will follow the footprints of Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) and will defeat all the barriers,” Stalin said.
The executive committee was meeting for the first time since the leader’s death, and comes a day after Stalin’s brother Azhagiri claimed the support of Karunanidhi’s loyalists.
Stalin, who was groomed by Karnuanidhi as his successor, is expected to be formally elevated as party chief.
“Stalin has all the capabilities to lead the party,” DMK principal secretary Duraimurugan said at the executive committee meeting. “You have the heart of Anna and Kalaignar. There is no one to challenge you. The credit of placing Kalaignar next to his brother Anna goes to you,” he added, referring to Karunanidhi’s burial next to his mentor CN Annadurai at Chennai’s Marina Beach.
Earlier on Monday, a senior DMK functionary said on condition of anonymity: “Stalin has already been anointed as the political heir of Kalaignar. The meeting will not discuss anything about those who were expelled from the party.”
“Though the executive committee does not have the power to elect the party president, it can give the nod to making Stalin the president. After that, it will be endorsed in the general council meeting – in which a formal announcement can be made,” another senior DMK office-bearer had said on the condition of anonymity.
Azhagiri, a former Union minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime, was sacked from the party by his father ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 for alleged indiscipline amid a turf war with his brother Stalin over establishing a supremacy in Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party.
His cryptic comments about differences with the “party” and not the “family” created a buzz. By evening, posters with his image had been splashed all over Madurai, the temple town in Tamil Nadu considered his bastion, referring to a new party the Kalaignar DMK.
First Published: Aug 14, 2018 12:55 IST
Source: HindustanTimes