TN: Bury hatchet, Karunanidhi tells rival DMK factions

Chennai: Partymen must remember that Stalin and Alagiri are not against each other, but are part of the DMK. This was party patriarch M Karunanidhi’s message to the warring factions of the DMK’s Madurai unit. Blaming part of the troubles between the factions — headed by his sons MK Alagiri and MK Stalin — on Brahminical forces, Karunanidhi asked his Madurai cadre to behave in way that didn’t create room for media reports about the strife.

Karunanidhi’s comments came at a meeting organised at the party headquarters here on Monday, after speeches and discussions on the recent tension within the party ranks in Madurai. The DMK has been torn apart by a factional feud in the temple city, which escalated after elections to the party’s youth wing, led by Stalin, were conducted there recently. The faction led by local strongman Alagiri had objected to the fact that the election had been held in their leader’s absence. This had sparked off a cold war and a scuffle between the two factions recently.

“We must behave in a way that leaves no room for the media to publish stories about our disunity. We must create a situation where the rising sun rises afresh,” said Karunanidhi to the Madurai unit. “Some of those who spoke here said there is a need to come together to ensure no one betrays the DMK family. I have faith that none of you will,” he added.

Ramadoss draws flak

DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on Monday hit out at comments made by former ally and PMK founder S Ramadoss, that no steps were taken by the previous DMK government to increase electricity generation in Tamil Nadu. Karunanidhi attributed Ramadoss’s comments to his decision not to ally with either of the major Dravidian parties. In a statement here, Karunanidhi faulted Ramadoss for taking a blanket stance against the Dravidian political majors — AIADMK and DMK.

“The DMK government started a number of projects to increase power generation. Ramadoss knows this well. But he is making such allegations against the DMK government because he has decided not to ally with either of the Dravidian parties in the future,” Karunanidhi said.