‘Perasiriyar’ defended me against allegations of dynasty politics, recalls Chief Minister Stalin

CHENNAI

Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin said on Sunday that when he was subjected to the charge that he was promoted in the party because of “dynasty politics”, it was late party general secretary K. Anbazhagan (affectionately called ‘Perasiriyar’ by his supporters) who defended him.

“Today, there is an allegation of dynasty politics. When I faced it, he gave me a certificate that could be etched in a stone. He said, ‘Stalin is heir-apparent not only to ‘Kalaignar’ [his father M. Karunanidhi] but also to me because he has the responsibility to protect the next generation’,” Mr. Stalin recalled Anbazhagan as saying. He was presiding over an event to mark the late leader’s birth centenary, organised by the DMK’s Chennai-East district unit at Periyar Thidal. Mr. Stalin referred to Anbazhagan as “Periyappa” (father’s elder brother) throughout his speech and said he gained the strength to run the “Dravidian Model government” from ‘Kalaignar’ and ‘Perasiriyar’. “He identified me as the leader of the party 40 years ago and said the party needed 100 Stalins. He proposed my name for the post of working president, and for the post of party president after ‘Kalaignar’,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said the DMK youth wing could get Anbagam as its headquarters only because of Anbazhagan. “When the party moved to Arivalayam, there was a scramble among various wings of the party to get Anbagam. ‘Kalaignar’ refused to give it to the youth wing. ‘Perasiriyar’ suggested that it be given to the wing that donated ₹10 lakh to the party. The youth wing gave the money in five months and got the building,” he said.

Likening the relationship between Karunanidhi and Anbazhagan to Tamil king Kopperuncholan and poet Picirantaiyar, who came forward to observe a fast unto death after knowing the king was doing it, Mr. Stalin said they were two great personalities of Tamil Nadu politics and remained friends forever. “It is difficult to come across such people now. They achieved fame and status during their lifetime and we need not do anything. It is the victory of the Dravidian Movement that imparted the values of self-respect and pride to the Tamil race,” he said.

Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani said the centenary was a festival of the Dravidian ideology. “The function is not for just making rhetoric, but to take a pledge to revive the ideology,” he said. DMK general secretary and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said Anbazhagan had even blessed Udhayanidhi Stalin, “the fifth generation leader of the movement”. Leaders of the DMK-led alliance, including TNCC president K.S. Alagiri, VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan and CPI State secretary R. Mutharasan, participated.