CHENNAI: DMK MLA Ezhilan Naganathan has sought revival of grassroots activism and said there is a need to reach out and educate youngsters belonging to intermediary castes. He made the remarks while referring to voting pattern in the recently-held Assembly elections. Ezhilan said DMK tasted victory majorly because of votes from Dalits, minorities and upper castes.
However, he expressed concerns about intermediary castes supporting AIADMK and its allies. “There is a need to educate (socially and politically) the youth in Tamil Nadu about Dravidian spirit at the grassroots level,” he said and dismissed AIADMK as a “non-Dravidian party.” He added: “There is only one Dravidian party, which is DMK.”
The Thousand Lights MLA made the remarks during a recent online discussion on ‘The Dravidian Stock’ organised by Dravidian Professionals Forum. On the relevance of EV Ramasamy (Periyar), he said people see followers of the social reformer as torchbearers of truth.
“I openly declared that I am a Periyarist and a firm believer of self-respect movement. I saw Periyar coming alive on the day of counting, when I was leading in every round,” he said.