NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Wednesday said the DMK will take steps to coordinate the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The CM’s remark comes just a day ahead of his scheduled meeting with Delhi and Punjab CMs, Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann, in Chennai on Thursday over the Delhi ordinance.
The Delhi CM will meet his Tamil Nadu counterpart as part of his effort to garner support from opposition parties on the ordinance that seeks to restore the Lieutenant-Governor’s control over the transfer and postings of bureaucrats in the national capital. Asked whether meeting with AAP leaders was also part of “coordinating the opposition”, the DMK chief said, “That effort is already on. This is not new. DMK will also be involved in it wholeheartedly.”
The CM was speaking to reporters at the airport after arriving in Chennai post his nine-day trip to Singapore and Japan to attract investments.
Kejriwal calls ordinance fight semi-final to LS polls
The CM, responding to a question on I-T searches at relatives or individuals linked to minister V Senthil Balaji, charged BJP of trying to “intimidate” opposition parties using agencies like Income Tax, CBI and ED. Stalin said investment proposals of over Rs 3,000 crore have been signed during the trip. Asked about ‘Sengol’ being installed in the new Parliament building and if it signified Tamil pride, the CM said that would have been the case if it was truly from the Chola dynasty as claimed.
“The Sengol drooped following the way in which our women wrestlers were assaulted”, the CM said, referring to their protest demanding the arrest of Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for alleged sexual harassment. The Delhi CM is visiting Tamil Nadu two days after he met CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who extended support over the ordinance issue.
The centre had on May 19 promulgated the ordinance to create an authority for the transfer and posting of officers in Delhi, soon after the Supreme Court handed over the control of services, excluding police, public order and land, in Delhi to the elected government. The ordinance has become a political flashpoint between the centre and opposition parties ahead of the 2024 LS elections, with Kejriwal urging all parties to vote against the ordinance in the Rajya Sabha.
He has projected the fight as a “semi-final” to 2024. To defeat the ordinance in the upper house, the AAP needs support from Congress, which has 31 members. So far, Kejriwal has received support from his Bihar, West Bengal, and Telangana counterparts. RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray, and NCP chief Sharad Pawar also extended support.
The Congress is yet to make its stand clear on the issue. Though Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi met Congress leaders from Delhi and Punjab, they have conveyed their strong reservations about backing the AAP on the issue. Delhi and Punjab Congress leaders hold AAP responsible for the party’s decimation in both states.