The Statewide demonstration by the DMK against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 turned out to be a success as thousands joined the party leaders in all district headquarters in Tamil Nadu raising slogans and expressing their dissent over the legislation.
But the protest demonstrations also brought out the brewing groupism and dissensions haunting the DMK ever since the death of M Karunanidhi, former party chief.
MK Stalin, DMK president and the Chief Minister-in-waiting lambasted the ruling AIADMK in the State and Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami for the smooth sailing of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha last week. “Had the AIADMK voted against the Bill, it would have been defeated in the Rajya Sabha.
But the AIADMK chose to vote with the BJP in enacting the Bill much to the shock of the people in Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK alone is responsible for this legislation,” said Stalin while addressing the party cadre at Kancheepuram on Tuesday morning.
Though Kanimozhi, the party’s women wing head and MP was the lead speaker in the public rally at Chennai, the cynosure of all eyes was Salma, the beautiful poetess and novelist. Kanimozhi too came down heavily on the AIADMK and Dr Anbumani Ramdoss MP (PMK) for the controversial Bill’s passage in Rajya Sabha. The meeting at Chennai saw the participation hundreds of women because of Salma’s presence.
Though the party cadre were expecting a speech by the poetess, she did not get any chance to address the gathering.
“It was Salma who made the difference in the Chennai meeting of the DMK,”, said Sripriya Iyer, Tamil writer and commentator. Another speaker who stole the limelight was party MP Thamizachi Thangapandian who gave an inspiring speech about Mother Tamil Nadu, home to refugees from all over the globe.
The decision of Stalin to field Salma is being seen as part of the move to contain the growth of Kanimozhi as an alternative centre of power in the party. Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter by his third wife Rajathi is yet to get her due in the party hierarchy as Stalin has made T R Balu MP, the Delhi face of the DMK much to the anguish of the former.
Interestingly, VCK, an ally of the DMK, had come out in June 2019 questioning the ever increasing North Indian population in Tamil Nadu. Thol Thirumavalavan, the VCK chief in his address to the rally convened by the DMK on the birth anniversary of late Karunanidhi on June 3, had sought a ban on the flow of people from North India to Tamil Nadu and alleged that the Centre was trying to make Tamils a minority in their own State.
The VCK leader who used to be a regular in all the meetings convened by the DMK was conspicuous by his absence from Tuesday’s demonstrations.