At a time when his elder brother M K Alagiri is sulking over being sidelined within the party, DMK treasurer M K Stalin addressing his supporters in Madurai on Sunday declared his ambition to ascend the political ladder in the footsteps of his father and party president M Karunanidhi.
“Thalaivar (Karunanidhi) had held the same post of DMK treasurer before he rose to become chief minister of Tamil Nadu. I will also prove that I live up to the tag of ‘Like Father, Like Son’,” Stalin said at a meeting convened to celebrate Karunanidhi’s 90th birthday and raise funds for the Parliamentary elections.
The meeting, organised in Alagiri’s home turf by DMK Madurai Urban district unit was as expected boycotted by Alagiri.
Indicating that he was not willing to concede Madurai to his brother, Stalin said: “I am emotionally attached with Madurai. Whenever I speak here, I feel energised and enthused. I am not saying this just for the heck of it but these words come straight from my heart.”
A moment later, for a good measure he added, “I swear on the party’s founder Annadurai that these words are from my heart. Some DMK functionaries in Madurai might not be happy over this, but I will not hesitate to repeat this.”
Recalling his association with Madurai, he said though DMK has many wings, the youth wing of the party, which he headed, was started in Madurai. “I am proud that I am managing the affairs of the youth wing started by our leader Karunanidhi,” he said.
Stating that the Congress extending support to the DMK in the recent Rajya Sabha elections did not imply that the two parties would forge an alliance, he said: “Some newspapers are publishing baseless reports that the DMK and Congress are allies.” Any alliance will be formed only on the eve of the Parliamentary polls, he added.