CHENNAI : Senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari on Thursday noted that there were many similarities between the ideologies of the Dravidian movement and the BJP.Speaking at the meeting called ‘The sun that rose from the South’, organised by the DMK to commemorate the services of its late leader M Karunanidhi, who passed away here on August 7, the Union Minister said, “The ideologies of the Dravidian movement and the BJP have many similarities including fostering and learning from our glorious heritage.”
He observed how Karunanidhi strove hard to popularise the Tamil classic Tirukkural and its author Tiruvalluvar. Recalling the association the BJP had with the late leader, Gadkari said it was “long” and “cordial”.“The DMK and the Jan Sangh were the first two parties which challenged the domination of the Congress in the country. Similarly, these two parties were the first to oppose the imposition of Emergency in the country and fought for restoration of democracy,” he commented. Nitin Gadkari also recalled how Karunanidhi worked close with the late Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, and said both had departed in quick succession.
However, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad pointed out that Karunanidhi had never compromised on the ideology despite having allied with the BJP purely out of his relations with Vajpayee. “Being part of the NDA government, he did not compromise on his ideology. Due to personal relations with Atalji, he allied with the BJP,” Azad noted.
It may be noted that the invitation extended by the DMK to the BJP’s national president, Amit Shah, and his initial willingness to attend the commemoration event had sparked speculations of the Dravidian party moving closer to the saffron party. However, later, Shah backtracked. And after taking charge as the DMK president, MK Stalin at his party’s general council meeting launched a scathing attack on the BJP.
Ready to accept Stalin as chief: Alagiri
Madurai: M K Alagiri, who hitherto was giving signs that his September 5 Chennai peace rally would be a sign of strength, did a political volteface on Thursday, saying he was ready to accept Stalin as the DMK president if he was re-inducted into DMK. After organising the meeting for the seventh day, Alagiri told mediapersons “When we are willing to rejoin the party, we should accept his leadership, isn’t’ it.”