MDMK general Vaiko on Friday said he had always stood in the forefront on issues which threatened the mankind and fought the battle than on electoral politics.
Speaking at the 115th Anna birth anniversary celebrations in Madurai, he said be it on Mullaiperiyar dam row, or on Neutrino project in Theni or Sterlite Copper Plant in Thoothukudi, he had spearheaded the agitations. “When these issues were drawn to the courts, I appeared in all the cases,” he recalled.
Leading the padayatra from Madurai to the Mullaiperiyar dam along with the farmers’ leader K.M. Abbas set the tone for the five southern districts in Tamil Nadu receiving water for irrigation, else they might have gone dry long years ago, he contended. He also recalled the fight against Sterlite Copper plant and the agitations staged on the Tamil Eelam issue.
The MDMK leader said he might not have succeeded in every election he contested, but said he could take credit for the achievements which threatened the common man.
Admired for his oratorical skill and hailed by supporters as “Puratchi Puyal”, Mr. Vaiko, however, admitted that after he suffered from COVID-19, he was recovering, but slowly. Hence, the fire in his address was missing, but the crowd remained intact till he ended his 40-minute speech.
MDMK’s headquarter secretary Durai Vaiko said the BJP might try all its gimmicks, but nothing would work in Tamil Nadu. The Dravidian land, which had seen the sacrifices of stalwarts like C.N. Annadurai, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, would not allow even an inch of space to Hindutva forces, he said.
The MDMK and other “secular parties” were not opposed to Hindus or the culture and traditions followed by them. They opposed only the way Sanatana Dharma was interpreted by Hindutva outfits such as the BJP and the RSS. For achieving political gains, the BJP indulged in all kinds of nasty politics, he alleged. The people were not innocents to be driven, he stressed.
Mr.Durai Vaiko took a dig at BJP State president K. Annamalai for his “unverified” observations on Sanatana Dharma and other issues. The crimes such as untouchability, social injustice and crimes against the downtrodden and the womenfolk would remain as long as the BJP was in power, he claimed and appealed to the people to ignore them unanimously.
He said he would continue to remain a loyal worker of the MDMK and did not wish to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
Published - September 15, 2023 10:04 pm IST
