CHENNAI: DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin, during the meeting of the opposition alliance INDIA in Mumbai on Friday, called for the formulation of a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) for the alliance that would serve as the defining ethos of the coalition.
Stalin said, “That (CMP) will be the face of the INDIA alliance. The BJP regime has ruined the country in several ways. It (CMP) must present a road map to the people spelling out what we intend to do to undo it.” Stalin stressed that the Indian bloc should align itself with the policies and principles necessary to establish democracy by defeating the autocratic BJP regime. “These ideals should serve as the guiding principles of the opposition bloc,” he said.
The CM also said, “Our foremost goal is to remove the BJP regime and establish a government of secular and democratic forces at the centre. To effectively isolate the BJP, we should strive to include all parties opposed to the BJP in our alliance. I urge all leaders to work with this objective.”
“There is no doubt that the BJP will be defeated. The alliance is marching on the path of victory. The name INDIA itself is causing ‘fear and fever’ to the saffron party,” he said. During the meeting, five DMK MPs were appointed to various committees of the INDIA bloc.
Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi in working group for social media
TR Baalu was appointed as a member of the coordination and election strategy committee, Tiruchy Siva will be part of the campaign committee, Dayanidhi Maran and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi will be members of the working group for social media, and A Raja has been appointed as a member of the working group for research.
It’s worth noting that former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi, Stalin’s father, had played a pivotal role in crafting the Common Minimum Programme for the BJP-led government under AB Vajpayee and the UPA 1 and 2 regimes led by Manmohan Singh.
After the INDIA alliance partners passed a resolution on Friday to initiate seat-sharing arrangements across states and conclude talks as soon as possible through a collaborative spirit of compromise, DMK allies in Tamil Nadu said they are confident that there will be no significant change in the sharing of seats among the allies in the state.