Nallakannu a guide in anti-BJP fight: Stalin

Chennai: The Communist Party of India (CPI) and its veteran leader R Nallakannu’s ideology have helped the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) to put up a challenge to religion-based parties, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin Stalin said while felicitating him on his 98th birthday on Monday.

Nallakannu, a former secretary of the Tamil Nadu unit of the CPI, is a senior political personality in the state who commands respect cutting across political parties.

Stalin urged Nallakannu to guide secular parties in their effort to defeat the BJP-led union government. “Nallakannu should continue to work for the betterment of the people,” Stalin said. “He has never deviated from the ideology that he professes. Nallakannu serves as a guide to us in our effort to defeat fascist BJP government.”

Stalin brought together a rainbow alliance, called SPA, in 2019 for the Lok Sabha polls which they swept and also won the Tamil Nadu assembly elections after a decade in May 2021 assembly. The DMK-led alliance includes Congress, CPI, CPI-M, VCK, IUML, MDMK and other regional parties.

Stalin reiterated his anti-BJP stance during the event. On Sunday, while releasing a book on India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (authored by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) vice-president A Gopanna), Stalin said that Rahul Gandhi’s speeches during his Bharat Jodo Yatra were “creating tremors” in India. ““Nehru ensured holistic development of all regions of the country by introducing five-year plans. He saw India as one country that is united. We will understand Nehru only when we compare him with current politics. An AIIMS was announced for Tamil Nadu in 2015 in Parliament (by BJP) but nothing has moved so far,” Stalin said. “I got the opportunity to launch the yatra in Kanyakumari. Rahul Gandhi’s speeches are creating tremors in the country. He is not speaking about electoral or party politics. He is speaking about ideology. That is why he is being criticised by some. Sometimes, Rahul’s speeches resemble that of Nehru… The heirs of Godse will only feel bitter when they hear speeches from heirs of Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru.”

In his brief speech on Monday at the Left leader’s 98th birthday event which was attended by alliance partners, Stalin said his government had awarded the first and second Thagaisaal Tamizhar (meaning eminent Tamil) awards to N Sankaraiah, freedom fighter and CPI-M leader, and Nallakannu in 2021 and 2022. The award was instituted by the DMK after they came to power last year. “Though I handed over the award to Nallakannu in my capacity as chief minister, today I am here to convey my wishes to him on behalf of the DMK,” Stalin said.