CHENNAI: DMK mouthpiece Murasoli, in its editorial on Monday, paid encomiums to Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu over his various speeches, including the one he gave during the unveiling of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s statue, in Chennai on Saturday. The editorial further elaborated on the DMK’s long and strong association with the BJP leader, and said he had replied to the party’s critics during his speech.
As soon as the Vice-President agreed to unveil the Dravidian stalwart’s statue, hundreds of right-wing cadre opposed the move on social media and expressed their disappointment at Naidu for agreeing to participate in the programme. However he came and unveiled the statue.
Appreciating the Vice-President’s gesture, the DMK mouthpiece published an editorial praising his various speeches on issues such as secularism, State empowerment and need for political amity between the parties.
The editorial elaborated on the association between the DMK and Naidu spanning 25 years and his comments when Karunanidhi was arrested in 2001 by the erstwhile AIADMK-led government.
The editorial further quoted the VP’s observation, “If the States grow, the country grows.
The country cannot grow without the overall development of the States. Therefore, the Central and State governments must work together. We must forget the political situation and act as a group.” And Murasoli said he had made these observations to oppose the stepmotherly mindset with which the BJP-led Union government treats States ruled by opposition parties.
Above all, the Murasoli editorial said, Naidu spoke in detail about the ideas sown by DMK and their leader Karunanidhi in Tamil soil for a long time. The editorial also saw the Vice-President’s speech as a sharp retort to right-wing cadre who actively charge that the DMK is acting against India’s interests.
The Murasoli editorial has gained significance in political circles given the upcoming election for the President of India, and has triggered talks on whether DMK would support Naidu if he is named the presidential candidate of the NDA.