KARUR: Claiming that the DMK was the first regional party to come to power in a state, Chief Minister M K Stalin said on Wednesday that the DMK can never be erased from Tamil Nadu and will retain power in 2026 TN Assembly elections.
Addressing the “Mupperum Vizha” conference in Karur, Stalin said whichever party that comes into Tamil Nadu politics, they say they will destroy the DMK calling themselves alternative to the DMK to bring change.
“What will they change? Will they bring change, and then drag Tamil Nadu’s development backwards? Is anyone talking about policies better than ours? Everyone promised change. But only the DMK did not change. No one can erase the DMK from TN. Our policy is our strength. There is still much to do,” said Stalin at the conference where a large number of cadres attended, getting drenched in the hour-long rain on Wednesday evening.
The CM said the DMK government implemented more schemes than any other state government in India. “We attracted investments to Tamil Nadu, created jobs and made TN a premier state. You can proudly say it is the only state in India to have achieved a double-digit economic growth,” he said.
Referring to the meeting of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Tuesday, Stalin mocked EPS for covering his face with a kerchief while returning after meeting Shah.
“He has demeaned himself by stripping of the dignity of an opposition leader. To save himself from raids, he has been keeping AIADMK under the heel (of the BJP),” said Stalin.
On the other hand, Stalin said the DMK faced the BJP at the centre without fear over delimitation, the tussle with Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi.
“We have boldly opposed all the anti-people actions of the union government. By struggling and struggling, we held the head of Tamils and Tamil Nadu high. We will never let this proud Tamil Nadu bow its head. So, there is no entry here for the BJP. Because this is Periyar-Anna-Kalaignar’s Tamil Nadu, carved by their ideals,” he said.
Stalin also called for opposing the BJP. “If we do not stop the BJP now, next they will move to eliminate the states themselves. They have already tried a trial run in Kashmir. Today we have a duty to wage a rights struggle to save the nation,” he said.
“Mupperum Vizha” is an annual event celebrated collectively by the party to mark the birth anniversary of DMK founder C N Annadurai on September 15, the party’s founding day on September 16, and the birth anniversary of Dravidian icon Periyar EV Ramasamy on September 17.
This year, the event has been organised at Kodangipatti on the outskirts of Karur, where Stalin addressed the gathering. Arrangements were made to accommodate around 2 lakh participants, with a massive pandal set up over an area of 50 acres. The party’s Karur district secretary and former minister, V Senthilbalaji, welcomed the gathering.
Stalin presented certificates of appreciation and cash awards to outstanding party workers from the four zones of Tamil Nadu.
The party’s annual awards for 2025, instituted in the names of Dravidian leaders, were presented. Stalin conferred the Periyar Award on Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, the party’s deputy general secretary and parliamentary party leader.
Earlier in the day, Stalin, along with state ministers, MPs, MLAs, elected representatives of civic bodies, including Tiruchy mayor, and hundreds of government officials and employees, took the pledge for social justice to mark the 147th birth anniversary of EV Ramasamy, during an event organised at the Collector’s Office in Tiruchy before heading to Karur.