<p>Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s consistent opposition to the BJP and his being the “guiding force” behind the formation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) are the reasons behind the Enforcement Directorate (ED) “targeting” DMK ministers, the ruling party alleged on Thursday. </p>.<p> In an editorial titled ‘MKS created I.N.D.I.A’ in party mouthpiece Murasoli, the DMK said Stalin’s outright rejection of an alternative front sans Congress to take on the BJP at his 70<sup>th</sup> birthday celebrations in Chennai prompted several Opposition parties to see reason with his argument and come together on a single platform. </p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/tamil-nadu-urges-centre-to-persuade-karnataka-to-release-cauvery-water-to-save-kuruvai-crop-1238934.html">Tamil Nadu urges Centre to persuade Karnataka to release Cauvery water to save Kuruvai crop</a></strong></p>.<p>“It was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who worked hard to cobble up the coalition of Opposition parties. At his 70<sup>th</sup> birthday celebrations on March 1, Stalin outlined the strategy that the Opposition should adopt to take on the BJP. He made it clear that a Third Front will never reach the shores and he was categorical in voicing his opinion,” the editorial said.It was Stalin who sowed the seed in the minds of Opposition parties that only an alliance that includes Congress can defeat the BJP in the 2024 elections, the DMK said, adding that only after the TN Chief Minister’s assertion that some leaders changed their mind and agreed to do business with the Grand Old Party.</p>.<p>“The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) knows this much better than us. That is why the DMK is being targeted and the ED is being unleashed. They (BJP) think the (DMK) will get scared if the ED conducts searches before the Bengaluru meeting. The PM singled out the DMK after the Opposition meeting in Patna and in Bengaluru,” the DMK mouthpiece said. </p>.<p> “He (Modi) knows it was M K Stalin who is behind I.N.D.I.A. That is why he is spewing venom on the DMK and targets the party through investigating agencies,” the Murasoli editorial added. The party was referring to ED raiding two DMK ministers V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy and bringing another minister Anitha Radhakrishnan under its radar. </p>.<p> The DMK also recalled that Stalin made his stand on the Opposition alliance clear in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.</p>.<p>He contended that opposition parties will only be at loss if they decide national politics depending on calculations at regional level, the DMK said, and pointed to Stalin’s appeal to Rahul Gandhi in 2021 to lead the anti-BJP front at the national level. </p>
<p>Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin’s consistent opposition to the BJP and his being the “guiding force” behind the formation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) are the reasons behind the Enforcement Directorate (ED) “targeting” DMK ministers, the ruling party alleged on Thursday. </p>.<p> In an editorial titled ‘MKS created I.N.D.I.A’ in party mouthpiece Murasoli, the DMK said Stalin’s outright rejection of an alternative front sans Congress to take on the BJP at his 70<sup>th</sup> birthday celebrations in Chennai prompted several Opposition parties to see reason with his argument and come together on a single platform. </p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/tamil-nadu-urges-centre-to-persuade-karnataka-to-release-cauvery-water-to-save-kuruvai-crop-1238934.html">Tamil Nadu urges Centre to persuade Karnataka to release Cauvery water to save Kuruvai crop</a></strong></p>.<p>“It was Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin who worked hard to cobble up the coalition of Opposition parties. At his 70<sup>th</sup> birthday celebrations on March 1, Stalin outlined the strategy that the Opposition should adopt to take on the BJP. He made it clear that a Third Front will never reach the shores and he was categorical in voicing his opinion,” the editorial said.It was Stalin who sowed the seed in the minds of Opposition parties that only an alliance that includes Congress can defeat the BJP in the 2024 elections, the DMK said, adding that only after the TN Chief Minister’s assertion that some leaders changed their mind and agreed to do business with the Grand Old Party.</p>.<p>“The Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) knows this much better than us. That is why the DMK is being targeted and the ED is being unleashed. They (BJP) think the (DMK) will get scared if the ED conducts searches before the Bengaluru meeting. The PM singled out the DMK after the Opposition meeting in Patna and in Bengaluru,” the DMK mouthpiece said. </p>.<p> “He (Modi) knows it was M K Stalin who is behind I.N.D.I.A. That is why he is spewing venom on the DMK and targets the party through investigating agencies,” the Murasoli editorial added. The party was referring to ED raiding two DMK ministers V Senthil Balaji and K Ponmudy and bringing another minister Anitha Radhakrishnan under its radar. </p>.<p> The DMK also recalled that Stalin made his stand on the Opposition alliance clear in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, National Conference’s Farooq Abdullah, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, and Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav.</p>.<p>He contended that opposition parties will only be at loss if they decide national politics depending on calculations at regional level, the DMK said, and pointed to Stalin’s appeal to Rahul Gandhi in 2021 to lead the anti-BJP front at the national level. </p>