Contending that the need for a political party like DMK is “more than ever” in today’s political scenario, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Sunday declared that the party’s journey in pursuit of social justice will cover the whole of India and termed as the first step his initiative to form the All India Federation for Social Justice towards achieving the goal.
In a letter to his cadre on the eve of the release of the first part of his autobiography by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Stalin said the book covers the first 23 years of his journey – from his birth in 1953 to his experiences as a prisoner during the Emergency under MISA in 1976 – and expressed regret that he could not invite cadres for the event due to security reasons.
Incidentally, it was Rahul Gandhi’s grandmother Indira Gandhi who imposed an Emergency in 1975 and the DMK’s government was dissolved in 1976.
Gandhi will release the first part of Stalin’s autobiography at a gala event on Monday evening with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, NC’s Omar Abdullah, Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, in attendance. In the letter, the DMK chief spoke in detail about his arduous journey as a leader and recalled his father M Karunanidhi’s words that Stalin was the epitome of hard work, which he considered as a “certificate” to his contributions in public life.
Stalin described the DMK alliance’s “Himalayan victory” in the just-concluded elections to urban local bodies as people’s “birthday gift” as he turns 69 on March 1. He asked his cadre not to organize lavish celebrations on his birthday.
“DMK’s founder C N Annadurai had said while founding the party that its services would be needed for half a century. In the current scenario, the need is more than ever. The DMK’s journey in pursuit of social justice will cover the whole of the Indian Union. The first step is the All India Federation for Social Justice,” Stalin said in the letter.
Stalin had in January written to 38 leaders across the country to join the All India Federation for Social Justice to ensure equitable distribution of resources and development to all sections of society. Parties like Congress have joined the forum.
Terming the local body election results as people’s “good conduct certificate” for the nine-month-old DMK Government, Stalin said such a victory would not have been possible without “groundwork” by the cadres. “The victory streak of the DMK alliance began in 2019 and it is continuing in 2022. We have hit a six in every ball. This scale of victory has been given to us by the people. The local bodies are the backbone of the democracy,” Stalin said.
He also told his cadre to ensure the victory of the candidates announced by the party and alliance partners for the elections to choose the heads of the civic bodies.
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