DMK President MK Stalin on Saturday criticised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's conduct in the state assembly, accusing him of treating the House like a film set and focusing on delivering "punch dialogues" — a reference to Vijay's background as an actor.
Addressing a party executive meeting, Stalin claimed that Vijay's primary focus had been altering the names of schemes introduced during the DMK's tenure.
"The present chief minister is busy changing the names of all the schemes we introduced. He is treating the Legislative Assembly like a cinema set and delivering punch dialogues. As far as we are concerned, whether we win or lose, we are people who remain deeply connected with the day-to-day lives of the people," Stalin said.
During the meeting, the DMK Executive passed resolutions to increase youth presence in the party and fix term and age limits for several party posts.
Stalin said the party had only lost an election, not suffered a permanent defeat. "Let us consider this as an opportunity we have been given to plan the future of the party. This is going to be a very important Executive Committee meeting in the history of the party. With your approval, we are going to make major and significant changes to the organisational structure of the party," he said.
Stalin acknowledged that the functioning of party office-bearers was among the reasons for the defeat, and said mistakes must be openly admitted. He said that rather than examining each constituency individually and simply replacing people, he had opted for a comprehensive self-assessment.
"Even if the mistake is committed by an individual, it is the 75-year-old party that suffers because of it. After a defeat, many reasons are put forward. Instead of examining each constituency individually, identifying shortcomings and simply replacing people, I decided that we need to undertake a comprehensive self-assessment," he said.
Under the resolutions, the maximum age for a Branch Committee Secretary has been fixed at 45 years, with the post held for a maximum of two terms.
Branch Committees will be formed in the Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli and Salem corporations, and in other corporations wherever necessary, to strengthen Ward Committees. In the Chennai Corporation, Ward Committees will comprise an average of 10,000 voters, while in other corporations they will comprise an average of 5,000 voters.
The maximum age for Municipal/City/Town Panchayat Ward Committee Secretaries has been fixed at 50 years, with a maximum of two terms in the post. For Town Panchayat Committee Secretaries, the maximum age has been fixed at 60 years, also with a two-term limit.
In the Chennai Corporation, Area Committees will comprise an average of 40,000 voters, while in other corporations they will comprise an average of 30,000 voters. The maximum age for Area Committee Secretaries has been fixed at 60 years, with a maximum of two terms.
City Committees will comprise an average of 40,000 voters, with the maximum age for a City Committee Secretary fixed at 60 years and a two-term limit.
One Union Committee is to be formed for every 30,000 voters on average, with the maximum age for a Union Committee Secretary fixed at 60 years and a two-term limit.
The term limit was later increased to three terms following discussion with DMK Executive Committee members.
(With inputs from ANI)
