DMK’s rule in T.N. an extension of Justice Party govt.: Chief Minister

Chief Minister M.K. Stalin discusses the legacy of the Justice Party and P.T. Rajan, emphasizing DMK's continuation of their ideals.

There is no end to the Justice Party. The DMK’s rule in Tamil Nadu is an extension of the Justice Party’s rule in Madras Presidency, said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in Chennai on Tuesday.

Releasing a book on the life and legacy of Justice Party leader and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile Madras Presidency P.T. Rajan titled Dravida Araneriyalar Thamizhavel P.T. Rajan Vaazhve Varalaru, Mr. Stalin said when the Justice Party was defeated in the 1937 election, Rajan had remarked, “One day we shall take revenge for this defeat.” Thirty years later, when the DMK won the 1967 election, he considered the DMK’s victory as a success of the Justice Party.

During the 1971 election, he appealed to the people to vote for the DMK to form a strong government, the Chief Minister said. “Minister for Information Technology and Digital Services Palanivel Thiaga Rajan is not the only heir of P.T. Rajan. We all in the DMK are political heirs of P.T. Rajan. Some may feel irritated when they hear the word ‘heir.’ They might feel uneasy, but we would keep repeating it.….Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan is an intellectual and capable of putting forth strong arguments. But his eloquence should remain a strength, not a weakness,” he said.

Mr. Stalin added that the book was not just the biography of one individual, but the history of the Justice Party, its leaders, and its governance achievements. “Not everyone’s life can be called a history, but P.T. Rajan’s life is undoubtedly a history. His contributions to various departments like Cooperation, Public Works, and Registration, had shaped Tamil Nadu’s development,” the Chief Minister said.

“In 1938, during the anti-Hindi agitations P.T. Rajan famously said, ‘We are not opponents of Hindi, but we are against the imposition of Hindi upon us.’ We continue to voice the same sentiment today. Though the faces of our enemies may change, their mentality remains the same. Until that mentality changes, our struggle will continue,” he said.

Recollecting the speech of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai on April 20, 1967, who called Rajan as a “Man of culture and a learned man”, N. Ram, Director, The Hindu Group Publishing Private Limited, said Tamil Nadu remained the top State in the country not only because of its economic progress, but also because of its crusade against regressive social norms.

He also hailed Mr. Stalin for his stance on implementing two-language policy in the State, the recent landmark judgment of the Supreme Court with respect to the role of Governors in taking decisions on Bills passed by the Assembly, and the State’s opposition to the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test.