Karunanidhi, MK Stalin cosying up to Vijayakanth?
Karunanidhi on Sunday appealed to the Assembly Speaker to revoke the suspension of the DMDK MLAs
By : k. karthikeyan
Update: 2015-08-24 05:40 GMT
Chennai: Once its bitterest critic, the DMK has started becoming a vocal and fierce defender of Vijayakanth’s DMDK of late. Twice in two days, both DMK president M. Karunanidhi and his party treasurer-son M.K. Stalin have attempted to warm up to the Captain. Karunanidhi on Sunday appealed to the Assembly Speaker to revoke the suspension of the DMDK MLAs and allow the principal Opposition party to attend the session from Monday. In fact, Karunanidhi preempted Vijayakanth in making the appeal to the Speaker. Though the timing of the statement might lead one to believe that the nonagenarian was consolidating the Opposition to take on the ruling AIADMK on the floor of the House from Monday, it needs no great wisdom to sense the silent undercurrent of the statement, which is about wooing the DMDK for 2016.
The statements of the party chief as well as his son Stalin have gladdened DMK insiders, for they had received the actor-politician at Gopalapuram only a few months ago when Vijayakanth called on Karunanidhi last April before leading an Opposition delegation to New Delhi.
Not averse to admitting that their leaders were sending feelers to Vijayakanth, the DMK inner circle recalls how they had supported the captain’s party after they were suspended during the last Assembly session. They even suggested that the cordial relationship could be taken to surprising levels when the Assembly begins tomorrow. For the treasury benches, it will not just be the two leading Opposition parties, but also the Left, Congress, MMK and PMK that will pile pressure by posing questions pertaining to prohibition and Gandhian Sasiperumal’s death in what might probably be the longest Assembly session of the year thus far.