Vaira Vizha (Tamil for Diamond Jubilee Celebrations) of DMK patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi’s election as the member of legislative Assembly planned for June 3 has become a Vairi Vizha (celebration of enmity) because of selective invitations sent to leaders of various political parties.
The DMK working president MK Stalin, who is officiating as the party president in the absence of the ailing Karunanidhi (94), has invited all political party leaders barring the BJP, Shiv Sena and the AIADMK (both factions) because of the bad blood the former has with these political parties. All non-BJP leaders of Hindi-speaking States have been invited by Stalin and Kanimozhi MP, Karunanidhi’s daughter by his third wife Rajathi Ammal.
“Since the BJP is always working for the defeat of the Dravidian rule, we are keeping them away from the Vaira Vizha,” Stalin told reporters on Thursday when he was asked about the exclusion of the Hindutwa leaders.
RS Bharati, DMK spokesman and member of the Rajya Sabha was more blunt. “Both the BJP and the AIADMK are communalist forces and hence we are keeping these parties away,” said Bharati.
But Ramakrishnan Gautaman director, Vedic Science Research Centre, called Stalin’s and Bharati’s bluff pointing out the DMK’s marriage of convenience with the BJP from 1999 to 2004. “Karunanidhi was the first person to extend the hand of cooperation to the BJP when the AIADMK withdrew support to the then NDA Government led by AB Vajpayee in 1999.
The DMK enjoyed the fruits of power during this period through the plum Ministries they handled. The BJP was totally against their concept of Dravidianism at that time also,” said Gauthaman.
He also said that Karunanidhi is not in the best of health and would not have allowed such selective exclusion had he been aware of the goings on around him. But Union Minister of State for surface transport Pon Radhakrishnan, said the BJP would not attend the Vaira Vizha even if invited by the DMK. “This event has been planned by Stalin to forge a Grand Alliance against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. This is not because of his respect or love for Karunandhi,” said Radhakrishnan while addressing reporters at Nagercoil on Thursday.
Karunanidhi was elected as MlA for the first time in 1957 and he is one of the very few politicians in the country who has survived to see the diamond jubilee of his election as MlA. The non-agenarian, a school dropout, has never lost any election he has contested though his party had tasted defeat many times in the past. Since 2011, the DMK has not won any election as the AIADMK was having a dream run in the Assembly as well as lok Sabha elections.
The next election (2019 lok Sabha election) would be fought in Tamil Nadu san Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. If Stalin fails to lead the DMK to an impressive win, his leadership would come under the scanner. It is interesting to note that MK Azhagiri, Karunanidhi’s elder son, who was ousted from the party prior to the 2014 lok Sabha polls, is maintaining a silence as Stalin has taken full control of the party. Azhagiri is a force to reckon with in southern Tamil Nadu and the DMK has not won any election whenever the party had side-lined him.