DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Friday hinted that there could be a change in the alliance of political parties at the Centre.
“If there is a change, it will not be a surprise,” Karunanidhi told the media, when asked whether he could foresee any change in the alliance at the Centre, especially under the present political climate prevailing in the Centre. Answering another query, he said that his partymen would cast their votes on D-day for Presidential poll even if they were arrested in the ‘Jail Bharo’ protest scheduled on July 4.
“Even if they are in prison, the permission to cast their votes will be accorded,” he said. Asked whether the arrests of the DMK men would stop after the ‘Jail Bharo’ stir, he recalled an old saying in Tamil that a sensible person would not commit the same mistake again and again. On exerting pressure on the Centre to dissolve Tamil Nadu Assembly, Karunanidhi said that it was the custom of the AIADMK to ask the Centre to dissolve the government when they were in opposition for any issues. He added that it was not DMK’s tradition. He said that no talks were held regarding filling up of the Cabinet berths earlier allotted to the party.
Jail Bharo on July 4
The DMK will begin its ‘jail bharo’ protest on July 4 in a bid to put an end to what they call “political vendetta” of the ruling AIADMK.
The decision came after an emergency meeting of the party’s executive committee that went on through the day. Besides party chief Karunanidhi, party treasurer M K Stalin, general secretary K Anbazhagan and other deputy secretaries co-chaired the meeting.
District secretaries were of the view that the party should launch a ‘jail bharo’ protest in the backdrop of party heavy-weight Veerapandi S Arumugam being detained under the Goondas Act and Madurai urban district secretary K Thalapathi being rearrested in a land grab case even as he was granted bail in another case.
Stalin told the committee that such a protest was the need of the hour.
Karunanidhi said that he was aware that the party had a membership of several lakhs across the State and a dominant portion would support the stir. “The party will keenly monitor who organises the stir and how many participate,” Karunanidhi said.
It may be recalled that the party threatened to launch such a stir soon after police started filing cases against DMK men for usurping land across the State.
The meeting that began at 10.30 am concluded with Anbazhagan reading out the resolution passed at the meeting.