DMK Leader Archives - Lokmarg

Udhayanidhi Responds To BJP’s Nepotism Barb

By LokMarg 24th March 2024

Hitting back at the BJP, which has been taking frequent potshots at his party over ‘nepotism’, ruling DMK leader and minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said he does belong to a family-run party as all of Tamil Nadu is Karunanidhi’s (late party stalwart and his grandfather) kin.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Udhayanidhi, the son of Chief Minister MK Stalin, said, “They (BJP) call us (DMK) a family-run party. I agree that DMK is a family-run party, as all of Tamil Nadu is Karunanidhi’s family.”

Also targeting former CM and AIADMK leader E Palaniswami, Udhayanidhi said, “Till (AIADMK stalwart) Jayalalitha was the chief minister, NEET (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) was not allowed in the state. However, after her demise, the slave government (the previous AIADMK-run regime) allowed the NEET exam to be held in the state for fear of the BJP. The decision by the previous government to bring NEET to Tamil Nadu drove one of our daughters, Anita (who led the state’s fight against the all-India national and medical engineering exam), to take her own life. Thereafter, till now, 22 students have died by suicide due to fear of the NEET exam.”

A long-time former chief minister, Kalaignar Karunanidhi was a cult figure in the state’s Dravidian politics. Under his leadership, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, since 1957, contested and won all general elections in the state, barring 1984, when he didn’t contest the polls.

Kalaignar passed away on August 7, 2018, aged 94. He was buried with full state honours at Marina Beach, next to his mentor and former Tamil Nadu chief minister, CN Annadurai.

The voting for all 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will be held in the first phase on April 19.

During polling for the 2019 general elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, comprising the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, registered a landslide victory, winning 38 of the 39 seats.

In 2019, the DMK won 23 Lok Sabha seats, hogging 33.2 per cent of the total votes polled, while the Congress bagged 8 seats, with its vote share at 12.9 per cent. The CPI, too, won two seats in the state.

The elections for 543 Lok Sabha seats across the country will be held in seven phases, starting April 19. (ANI)

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Sanatan Dharma Row: Udhayanidhi Says No SC Summons Received

By LokMarg 23rd September 2023

Tamil Nadu Minister and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on Saturday said that he has not received any notice from the Supreme Court asking for his explanation for his Sanatan Dharma remarks which triggered a political storm in the country.

“I saw about the Supreme Court order in the media. There is still no notice received from the Supreme Court asking for an explanation,” Stalin told reporters here.

The Supreme Court on Friday had issued notice to him for his remarks calling for the eradication of ‘Sanatan Dharma’.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi had also issued notice to MP A Raja, MP Thol Thirumavalavan, MP Thiru Su Venkatesan, Tamil Nadu DGP, Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, Union Home Ministry, Minister for Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowment Department PK Sekar Babu, Chairman of Tamil Nadu State Minorities Commission Peter Alphonse and others.

The apex court which was initially reluctant to entertain the plea and asked the petitioner to approach the High Court, agreed to hear the case.

The bench asked about the context of the remarks, the advocate appearing for Chennai-based lawyer B Jagannath who filed the plea, said, “They have called for eradication of a faith, in an institution.”

The Counsel argued that if such a comment was made by an individual it would be understood, but the State is unleashing its machinery.

He told the bench that circulars have been given asking students to speak against it.

“A constitutional functionary speaking like this is impermissible. Second, students should not be forced to speak out against so and so Dharma,” the counsel said.

The plea filed through advocate Balaji Gopalan sought intervention to not allow Udhayanidhi Stalin and others to make further remarks on Sanatana Dharma.

It also sought to declare the participation of Tamil Nadu Ministers in the meeting — Sanatana Dharma Eradication conference — held on September 2, as unconstitutional.

The petition further sought direction from the respondents — Stalin, Peter Alphonse, A Raja Thol Thirumavalavan and their followers — not to make any further remarks against Sanatana Dharma or Hinduism.

The petitioner urged the DGP to submit a report as to how the conference was given police permission and why no action was taken against the perpetrators and the organisation responsible for the event.

The plea sought directions from the Home Secretary and the CBI Director to immediately direct an investigation and enquiry into the background of holding such events, including the sources pertaining to who is responsible for the contribution of the amount to such organisations.

It also sought directions from the Tamil Nadu government’s Higher Education Department, asking them not to hold any events on ‘Sanatana Dharma’ in secondary schools.

The remarks of DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin triggered a massive political controversy across the country.

On September 5, 262 eminent citizens including former High Court judges and bureaucrats wrote to the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud urging him to take note of Stalin’s hate speech calling for the eradication of ‘Sanatana Dharma’.

They wrote a letter to the CJI stating that the Supreme Court had directed the governments and police authorities to take suo motu action in hate speech cases without waiting for the lodging of formal complaints. (ANI)

Shah Flays Stalin’s Son’s Remarks On ‘Sanatana Dharma’ In Rajasthan

By LokMarg 3rd September 2023

Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused leaders of DMK and their INDIA alliance partner Congress of talking about ending “Sanatana Dharma”, while hitting out at Rahul Gandhi for “comparing Hindu organisations with proscribed terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba”.

Hitting back at the DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin over his remark that ‘Sanatan Dharma’ should be eradicated and not merely opposed, Shah said, “For the last two days, the INDIA alliance has been insulting ‘Sanatana Dharma’. Leaders of DMK and Congress are talking about ending ‘Sanatana Dharma’ just for vote bank politics. This is not the first time they have insulted our ‘Sanatana Dharma”.

Shah addressed a gathering in poll-bound Rajasthan after flagging off the party’s second Parivartan Yatra.

Lashing out at the Opposition, he recalled former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also said that the first right on the budget is of the minorities, “but we say that the first right is for the poor, tribals, Dalits and backwards”.

“Today, the Congress party says that if Modi ji will win, Sanatana will rule. Rahul Gandhi said that the Hindu organisations are more dangerous than Lashkar-e-Taiba”.

The top BJP leader took a dig at Rahul Gandhi for “comparing Hindu organisations with Lashkar-e-Taiba”.

Addressing a conference in Chennai on Saturday, the minister for Sports and Youth Affairs in the Tamil Nadu government railed against Sanatan Dharma, saying, “Few things cannot be opposed, they should only be abolished. We can’t oppose Dengue, mosquitoes, Malaria, or Corona, we have to eradicate them. In the same way, we have to eradicate Sanatana (Sanatan Dharma). Rather than merely opposing Sanatana, it should be eradicated.”

In a scathing retort to the DMK leader over his remarks, Annamalai took to his official handle on X to post, “The only resolve that the Gopalapuram Family has is to accumulate wealth beyond the State GDP. Thiru @Udhaystalin, you, your father, or his or your idealogue have a bought-out idea from Christian missionaries & the idea of those missionaries was to cultivate * like you to parrot their malicious ideology.” (ANI)

Governor Doesn’t Have Right: Stalin After Balaji Dismissed

By LokMarg 29th June 2023

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday hit out at Governor RN Ravi over the dismissal of jailed minister Senthil Balaji, saying he does not have the right to do so and his government will proceed legally in the matter.

The minister had been arrested in connection with a cash-for-jobs scam case.
Speaking to reporters in the wake of the arrest of the fellow DMK leader, CM Stalin said, “Governor doesn’t have the right (to dismiss a sitting minister) and we will face this legally.”

Also lashing out at the Governor, DMK leader A Saravanan accused the Governor of undermining the Constitution, saying that the order, dismissing Balaji from the state’s council of ministers, is not even worth the paper it was drafted on.

“Who does the Governor thinks he is? Does he have the constitutional authority (to dismiss Senthil Balaji)? The Governor is undermining the constitution. He is catering to the Sanatan Dharma. The law of the land isn’t determined by the Sanatan Dharma. For a Governor, the constitution should be the Bible, Gita, and Quran. He is acting like a clown, trying to appease his political masters. His order isn’t even worth the paper it was drafted on. It must be consigned to the dustbin,” the DMK leader said.

Former Union minister and Congress leader Manish Tewari, too, slammed the dismissal of the jailed minister, tweeting, “Article 164 of COI”The chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister… Since Ministers are appointed on advice of CM they can be removed ONLY on advice of CM Unconstitutional Gov.”

Earlier, on Thursday, Tamil Nadu Governor Ravi dismissed DMK leader jailed minister Balaji from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect.

“Minister V Senthil Balaji is facing serious criminal proceedings in a number of cases of corruption including taking cash for jobs and money laundering…Under these circumstances, Governor has dismissed him from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect”, stated a release issued by the Raj Bhavan in Tamil Nadu.

Balaji was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on June 14 in a cash-for-jobs scam case. He was later admitted to a government hospital in Chennai after he complained of chest pains.

He was allowed by the Madras High Court on June 15 to be shifted to a private hospital of his choice.

The Supreme Court, earlier this month, refused to interfere with the Madras High Court order allowing Balaji to be moved to a private hospital in Chennai and admitted a habeas corpus petition filed against his arrest. (ANI)