M Karunanidhi memorial opens up talk of secular team for 2019

Chennai: DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi's memorial event here on Thursday turned into a virtual launch pad for the anti-BJP parties for an all-out attack on the Narendra Modi government and sound the clarion for installing a 'secular' alliance in power at the Centre in 2019. 

The decorated podium also saw all the top national leaders acknowledge Stalin as the worthy successor to his father in the battle for inclusive federalism in Indian polity.  

The odd man out in the impressive list of speakers was BJP's Nitin Gadkari, who smartly turned the table on the Congress and DMK — by reminding the former that it imposed Emergency on the nation and pointing out to the latter that it stood with his BJP in opposing the draconian rule. “BJP and DMK are one of the very few parties that opposed the Congress and its policies way back in 1960s and BJP joined Karunanidhi ji in opposing the Emergency in 1975. He also had an excellent working relationship with our leader AB Vajpayee,” Gadkari told the memorial meeting titled “Kalaignar Karunanidhi: The Sun That Rose from the South”.

Gadkari, who represented the BJP after its president Amit Shah had second thoughts about participating in the event, said Karunanidhi was a pioneer in coalition politics and gave wings to aspirations of many regional parties. 

The Shipping Minister was also saved the embarrassment of listening through the speeches of leaders from Opposition parties who tore into the BJP and its policies since he left early to catch his flight.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Trinamool Congress’ Derek O’Brien and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad spoke at length about Karunanidhi’s commitment towards federalism and democracy and appealed to DMK’s new president M K Stalin to follow the path shown by his late father to strengthen secular principles.

Ghulam Nabi Azad said the five-time chief minister was a “true democrat” who would have vehemently opposed the “attack on democracy and freedom of speech” under the Modi government if he was alive today.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah hoped that Stalin would carry forward Karunanidhi’s legacy and work towards promoting democracy and federalism. “Stalin, lead us to the nation where democracy thrives and lead us to the place where we can live without fear,” Abdullah said, while Yechury identified Stalin as one of the pivotal forces that would play an important role at the national stage.