Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday called for a firm fight against what he described as the “imposition and domination” of the central government while addressing the “Mupperum Vizha” in Karur, marking the birth anniversaries of social reformer Periyar, DMK founder CN Annadurai and the 76th founding anniversary of the DMK.
“Delhi is oppressing us in so many ways,” Stalin said, accusing the Centre of imposing Hindi language, denying exemptions from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), withholding education funds and suppressing archaeological findings. He warned of attempts to “snatch our voting rights through SIR.”
Turning his fire on the BJP, Stalin declared, “Be it now or then, there is ‘No Entry’ for oppression, ‘No Entry for Domination and Imposition’ and so totally ‘No entry for BJP’.” He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s influence had not succeeded in Tamil Nadu despite forming the union government three times. “Have you still not realised about us?” he asked.
Framing the struggle as crucial for federalism, Stalin said, “If we don’t stop BJP, they will move towards the idea of no existence of states,” citing Kashmir as precedent. He urged the people to treat the moment with the same resolve as the anti-Hindi protests. “Just like how Tamilnadu fought the language war and saved the whole of India, it is time for a historical duty to conduct a war for rights to protect the nation,” he said.
Recalling his political past, he added, “If we don’t fight for this, what will we fight for? This is important. In this protest, I, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin who went to prison at the age of 23 against Emergency will stand in the forefront.” He urged supporters to raise their voices from Karur so that “Delhi will hear, and will not let Tamil Nadu bow down.”
He accused AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami of “pawning” his party to save himself from raids and said he lacked understanding of Dravidian principles. He also took a veiled at actor-politician Vijay, asking, “What are they going to change? Those who spoke in such a way have vanished but DMK has stayed in the people’s heart.”
“Saffron ideology is causing hindrance to Tamil Nadu and people know that. Today the face of that organisation is BJP and we are fighting against it,” he said. He described critics of the Dravidian model as insincere, saying, “Their tears are crocodile tears.”
Addressing the youth, Stalin warned, “If BJP is not stopped, they will move towards a no states policy. They have already done a trial in Kashmir.” Repeating his pledge, he said, “Eight crore Thamizhar support is with us. This is a fight for Tamil Nadu. Let us say that we will not let Tamil Nadu bow down. Let those in Delhi hear it.”
Appealing to voters ahead of future Assembly elections in 2026, Stalin said, “Let us make history by bringing DMK once again back to power. We have unified more than 1 crore families in our organisation. DMK is the fort that is protecting Tamil Nadu.”
At the event, the Thanthai Periyar award was conferred on DMK MP Kanimozhi.
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