Chennai: The newly elected Lok Sabha members of the DMK are formally meeting on Saturday with Chief Minister and party president M K Stalin presiding over the proceedings at the Kalaignar Arangam in Anna Arivalayam.
DMK general secretary Duraimurugan made the announcement of the first meeting on Friday and urged all the MPs to be present at 6.30 pm. All the 40 MPs of the DMK-led coalition had gathered at Anna Arivalayam on Thursday evening for an informal get-together attended by Stalin.
Saturday’s meeting of DMK MPs assumes importance in the context of the crucial role the party is expected to play in national politics and also inside the Parliament when the new House is convened, particularly on the question of establishing the State’s rights.
Unlike the previous Lok Sabha, in which too the DMK had the same number of MPs, the present set of 22 members will be able to play a decisive role in wresting the State’s entitlements and privileges from the Union Government that might not be able to behave in same fashion as the previous BJP regime, under Narendra Modi, did in the last 10 years.
With its numbers having gone down and a coalition government in place, the BJP may not be able run roughshod over the State governments and deny them the funds and other privileges they are entitled for as it had happened earlier.
So, the 39 MPs from the State, particularly the 22 of them representing the DMK, would be expected to play a proactive role in Parliament to protect the interests and rights of the States as they could manage to get what their parties want by putting up a united fight.
The meeting with Stalin would be aimed at reorienting the MPs towards interacting with the new dispensation at New Delhi.
The DMK MPs are T R Baalu, Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, A Raja, Dayanidhi Maran, Jagathrakshan, Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Tamilachi Thangapandian, K Selvam, Kathir Anand, A Mani, C N Annadurai, Dharaniventhan, Malaiarasan, T M Selvaganapathy, Prakash, Ganapathi Rajkumar, Easwarasami, Arun Nehru, Murasoli, Thanga Tamilselvan and Rani Srikumar.
