In what has been an eventful week in setting the stage for the 2026 Assembly elections, TNIE's K Ezhilarasan talks to Thoothukudi MP and DMK deputy general secretary Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on the changing political dynamics, DMK's prospects and its political wins so far. Excerpts:
There was a landmark verdict from the Supreme Court regarding the Governor. Why do you think the post goes against the federal structure?
The court clearly said the actions of Governor RN Ravi were in contradiction to the constitution.The governor’s is just a nominated post. She/he cannot go against elected representatives of the people. We have seen that the governor, rather than abstaining from political activities, has been igniting political issues and hurting the sentiments of Tamils.
When there is someone acting on the union government’s will, like its political arm, and behaving like they are above the elected government, it becomes a contradiction. We have always asked, “Aattukku thadi yethukku, nattukku aalunar yethukku” (Why does a goat need a beard? Why does a state need a governor?) Now the SC has also asked (the same).
With regards to the Waqf Act, what are the provisions causing concern for the DMK? BJP leaders argue the Act will streamline the functioning of the boards and empower Muslim women to be part of them.
They are saying Muslim women were not allowed on the board. In Tamil Nadu, we have had a woman as the chairperson (Bader Sayeed was chairperson of the TN Wakf Board in 2002). Even today, we have two women members on the board. So, it's a complete misconception, which they are trying to spread.
We have the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department in TN and other states. I want to know if the Sangh Parivar or the BJP will accept if a Muslim or a Buddhist or a Christian or a Sikh is a member of a (temple) board? They don't even want them in teaching positions in colleges or schools run by the HR&CE department or on any temple boards. So then why do you want to bring in people from other communities into the (Waqf) board? The entire Act, we think, is absolutely unnecessary and has only been brought in to divide society.
Last month Chief Minister MK Stalin convened the first joint action committee meeting on delimitation. As an MP who regularly interacts with leaders from northern states, how do they perceive this?
They were very happy that our CM took this initiative. They believe this is an important concern and that we have to stand together to fight for the rights of the states which stand to be affected because of population-based delimitation. Everybody wants a fair delimitation.
When I speak to MPs from different states, they hold our CM MK Stalin in very high esteem because his voice is one of the strongest against this fascist government; he has been consistently fighting for the rights of the states.
The state government approached the top court and got the verdict (against the governor withholding assent on bills), because it's not just TN. We know what every state not being ruled by a BJP government goes through and how governors are being used to disrupt functioning of the state governments.
There has been no official announcement from the union government regarding delimitation. BJP leaders or Union Minister Amit Shah, they only…
Sorry to interrupt... I cannot accept it when you say that there is no official announcement from the union government.
When the Women's Reservation Bill was passed, they said a census will be taken and, based on that, delimitation will be done and then women's reservation of 33% would be implemented. According to the law, you have no other way of taking up delimitation but on population. That is why it was put on hold by former PMs Indira Gandhi and their own leader (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee.
The union government said we will implement women’s reservation after delimitation. When we asked when that is going to happen, they said it will be done very soon. When the TN CM raised his concerns about delimitation, the Union Home Minister did not say it would be put on hold. He only said it will be done on a pro-rata basis and you will not lose (seats). We want clarity, we want to know how they are going to do it.
The union government is determined to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) in all states with the three-language formula. They say students can choose any Indian language as a third language, not necessarily Hindi.
The three-language issue is not the only contention we have with the NEP. The CM had an expert committee to come up with a report, and we submitted it to the union government, stating our issues. From entrance examinations to clubbing and forming cluster colleges or closing of schools because they don't have enough students, we are against many aspects… In any government, there is no such thing as infinite or unending resources. So when you say any Indian language, will a student in TN or Kerala be able to learn Bhojpuri or Rajasthani if there are only, say, two students who opt for it? Will you appoint a teacher? Which will be the languages that will end up being offered? It will be either Hindi or Sanskrit.
In Kendriya Vidyalayas in TN, are they even offering Tamil? They only have Hindi. We got a written reply from them that they do not have even one single permanent teacher for Tamil in TN.
Today's students have so much to learn… Why burden a student who does not have the interest or the aptitude to learn another language? Let them choose. You don't become any more or less of an Indian because you know Hindi. I don't think I am less of an Indian compared to anybody else and I don't know Hindi.
How do you respond to the BJP leaders' allegations that the DMK government has not done enough to promote Tamil?
Even when Kalaignar (late DMK chief M Karunanidhi) was the CM, engineering courses were available in Tamil. We are encouraging the translation of Tamil books into other languages, opening them up to the world. We are ensuring the next generation knows the language. Our CM has supported the creation of Tamil chairs around the world. The research and findings we have come up with have amazed the world. You keep talking about the Kasi Sangamam as your contribution to Tamil. Actually, it is our contribution to Kasi. Other than that, what have you done for Tamil?
There are funds pending release under Samagra Shiksha (SS) and MGNREGS. DMK leaders allege the union government is allocating more funds to BJP-ruled states and to states where they have electoral prospects.
Definitely. We can clearly see that the railway budget allocation has been considerably reduced to the southern states. We have had to struggle for such a long time for even the metro rail project. What do we get in return? The cess funds don't come back.
Stating you won’t receive SS funds unless you sign the NEP (PM-SHRI) is clear blackmail. It's very sad that a union government thinks, in a democratic country, that it can blackmail the state government over an issue that is in the concurrent list.
Coming to the 2026 Assembly election, a political realignment has been underway. Is the DMK still certain of winning 200 out of 234 seats?
Some coalitions are happening, some people are being arm-twisted into accepting alliances because they don't have answers to questions. Parties like the AIADMK have been opposing delimitation, Waqf Act; what will be their answers when they make new alliances?
I am very certain that the DMK government has done very well in spite of its constraints. Our CM has stood at the forefront, protecting state rights, protecting the rights of TN, especially when the union government is trying to hurt the secular fabric of this country and take away rights from the state governments. He has been fighting not just for the state but for the country. I think people respect him for that. We have also been delivering on our poll promises and the governance has been good. With the kind of welcome the CM receives when visiting different districts and meeting people we are very confident of doing very well.
Can the tie-up between the AIADMK and BJP be seen as a success for Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) in his attempt to forge a mega alliance against the DMK?
EPS forging an alliance with the BJP is akin to mortgaging TN’s rights. He wasn’t even allowed to speak during the announcement of the alliance. What ‘success’ is there in this for him? I’m not even sure if EPS had any role in forming the alliance — it seems to have been unilaterally declared by the BJP.
Can the new political parties create a significant impact in the upcoming election?
We have to wait and see. I don't think anybody is going to have any adverse effect on the DMK but what effect they will have on other parties, I am not the right person to tell you.
