CHENNAI: The Dravidian model has now emerged as the governance formula for all states in the country, CM MK Stalin said on Thursday. The statement came on a day when Governor RN Ravi, in an interview with a newspaper, termed the Dravidian model of governance a mere “political slogan” and a “desperate bid to sustain an expired ideology”.
A few hours after the interview raised eyebrows, Stalin, the DMK president, issued a letter addressed to the cadre in the context of the party completing two years in office. It asserted that the two years of DMK rule are a testament to the governance model’s success.
Alluding to BJP’s election promises in poll-bound Karnataka, Stalin said those who denigrated social welfare schemes of the DMK government as “freebies” now stand exposed. The victory of the two-year rule of the DMK has been in dispensing pro-people initiatives and transforming Tamil Nadu into a welfare state. “This success will continue for a full five-year term.
The winning streak will continue in the subsequent elections too,” Stalin said. Those who could not tolerate the DMK’s achievements have resorted to distorting the good work by spreading baseless allegations. “That is why we have to respond loudly to speak the truth and counter the rumours and slander,” Stalin said.
‘People will join to end Ravi’s anti-democratic activities’
Without naming anyone, he alleged that “these people” have made it a habit to slander the DMK since it assumed office, as they could not stomach its popularity. Ravi’s statement also drew sharp reactions from the DMK and its allies. Congress state unit chief K S Alagiri asked, “Is he a political party leader to talk about the ideology of a party? What is his standing? What merit does he have to talk thus?”
The DMK’s policy is autonomy in the state and federalism at the centre and it is a force that has been fighting for the interests and rights of the people. “But, the governor talks about ‘Oru bharatham, one India,’ which is the policy of the BJP. He is persistently overstepping his limits. People will join hands to end his anti-democratic activities soon,” Congress state unit chief K S Alagiri Alagiri said.
In a cryptic tweet, CPM MP Su Venkatesan said, “We know it is natural for weeds to resent axes.”
CPI state secretary R Mutharasan demanded recall of the governor, alleging he had proved himself to be a spokesperson of the RSS and the BJP rather than remaining apolitical.
“He has been creating a false impression that law and order in Tamil Nadu has deteriorated. He has endorsed the BJP’s slogan of ‘one nation, one Bharatha’ and is attempting to slander the Dravidian model of governance,” Mutharasan said.
MDMK founder Vaiko sought an apology from Ravi for insulting the Dravidian thought.
DMK’s Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson tweeted, “He (the governor) is suffering from a delusion that he knows the people and politics of this state. What is ‘expired’ is the relevance of the post of governor.”
The ideologies of the DMK and the BJP are diametrically opposite.
Chidambaram dikshitars thank governor
Cuddalore: The lawyer of Chidambaram Nataraja Temple Podhu Dikshithars, G Chandrasekhar, thanked Governor RN Ravi for condemning the use of banned tests in the case against dikshithars.
Chandrasekhar said the governor’s statement makes it clear that child marriage cases were foisted against the dikshithars out of hatred.
“Moreover, despite the ban on such tests, they were conducted on the girl to check her virginity,” he said. Chandrasekhar continued that several cases were filed against dikshithars under the Child Marriage Act in October last year, and some were even arrested, despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that arrests were unnecessary for charges with less than seven years of jail term.