MK Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photo
Chennai: DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday asked newly-elected MPs from his party to make use of the Opposition’s strength of 234 lawmakers in Lok Sabha to “exert pressure” on the “weak” BJP government, which is yet to be formed, to deliver on promises made to the people of the state.
Addressing a meeting of the DMK Parliamentary Party here, Stalin congratulated them and spoke about the “historic victory” that the party-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) scored in the April 19 elections by winning all 40 seats, including the lone constituency in Puducherry.
“In the run-up to the polls, the BJP claimed it would win 370 to 400 seats, but all it won was 240 seats. In such circumstances, we should talk about the demands of the people of Tamil Nadu and fight for their implementation in Parliament,” Stalin told his party’s 22 newly-elected MPs that includes veterans T R Baalu, Kanimozhi, A Raja, and Dayanidhi Maran.
“We made a lot of promises to the people during the campaign. Our MPs should not just raise them in Parliament but push the weak BJP government to implement,” Stalin added. The Chief Minister said the Opposition benches in the lower house of Parliament will be “full” this time almost equal to that of the treasury benches which should be used for “constructive debate.”
He also asked the MPs to perform well as people will closely observe their activities in the light of the assembly elections that are scheduled in 2016. Stalin also added that the I.N.D.I.A. alliance would have formed the government if the election results in a few states had “changed slightly.”
DMK’s win decimated both the principal Opposition party, AIADMK, and the BJP, which cobbled up a coalition of its own for the Lok Sabha polls.
The stunning performance by the SPA comprising of DMK, Congress, CPI (M), CPI, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi (KDMK), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), and Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) is reminiscent of the combine’s 40/40 score in 2004, that led to the formation of the UPA-I government.