CHENNAI: With Assembly polls just six months away, posters in support of the ruling and the principal Opposition party have started appearing across the State. However, the DMK has taken strong objection to some posters targeting their leader MK Stalin. With Stalin being projected as their unanimous chief ministerial candidate, the posters questioning his capacity as a leader have come up for criticism. The theme of the posters are similar to the comments made on social media by the anti-DMK camp.
However, the ruling AIADMK has disowned the posters, saying it could have been put up by some ‘social activists.’ Most of the posters which popped up across the State since the last week of October did not carry mandatory details such as the name of the printer.
The posters were seen questioning the personal probity of Stalin. It painted the DMK leader as a product of ‘dynasty politics’ and as someone who depended on written notes to deliver public speeches. The posters also compared him with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, who was portrayed as a strong leader. The DMK has so far issued three statements in response to the posters and alleged that the AIADMK was behind it. Stalin’s statement on Wednesday questioned why the police failed to take action against those who put up the posters, and thus he alluded that it was work of the ruling party.
Responding to the allegations, AIADMK spokesperson Vaigai Selvan told TNIE that the party has no role in this. “Every poster must have the printer’s name. I don’t know how they missed it. It appears like they have been printed by some social activists,” he said. DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi alleged that the posters are being put up with the support of the police. “When our party cadre in Coimbatore lodged a complaint, the police booked our partymen, instead of those who put up the posters,” Bharathi said.
“The identity of the persons who put up the posters have deliberately been avoided and it is in violation of laws. I urge the Chief Electoral Officer to take action as the posters are in poor taste and bring down decency in the poll campaign,” he said.
However, Vaigai Selvan said the police did not take action on the DMK cadre’s complaint only because the cadre had torn the posters and created law and order problems.
“That’s why the police might have registered a case against them. Legal action will be taken against those who put up the posters,” he told TNIE.