CHENNAI: DMK president MK Stalin has taken over the powers of the general secretary for himself and thus centralising the powers within the party. The move is politically important as it points to the direction the dravidian party is taking.
From a glance of the party's bylaws, one of the interesting aspect is that Stalin's elder brother MK Alagiri, if at all to be reinduced into the party, has to submit his apology to the party's general secretary. With Stalin taking now assuming powers of the general secretary, it would be Stalin to whom Alagiri has to submit his apology. It will be Stalin who has to approve inclusion of anyone in the party.
It is not just this, as per DMK's bylaws (the internal rules that govern the party) the general secretary has vast administrative powers to control the functioning of the party in different ways.
Here is the list of such powers of the DMK's general secretary:
1. The general secretary can nominate up to 30 members to the general body, the ultimate decision-making body of the party. This gives a greater influence for the general secretary over the decisions of the general body.
2. The powers of appointing the headquarters office secretaries for the various wings is vested with the general secretary. He also has the powers to constitute separate committees and wings to execute certain party work.
3. The general secretary has the right and responsibilities to convene the meetings of general council, central executive committee and administrative council.
4. The general secretary is responsible for holding the internal party elections for various posts.
5. The general secretary is in charge of the administration of all the movable and immovable properties, including mortaging them. This includes handling of the funds of the party.
6. The general secretary is the authority to take disciplinary actions against party members and functionaries.