‘Stalin is the obvious choice as next leader’

“I have more time to give to the party, do better work,” said Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, DMK MP in the Rajya Sabha. “I plan to concentrate on strengthening the women’s wing and bring women’s issues to the fore,” she told BusinessLine in an interaction.

Elaborating on what the acquittal in the 2G case means for herself, the DMK and the political scene in Tamil Nadu, she said: “It was the one thing opponents were trying to use against the DMK even when people knew there was nothing to it. The weapon has been taken away from the hands of opponents. This has enthused cadres and leaders. It is not easy bearing the burden of being called corrupt. It has now been taken off our shoulders.”

Putting the 2G scam case behind — following a bitter court battle that lasted over seven years — “is a huge burden off the DMK and its leaders,” she added.

Will anti-corruption again take centrestage as a campaign platform in Tamil Nadu? It was never off the stage, Kanimozhi was quick to respond.

“ Thalapathy (DMK Working President MK Stalin’s popular title) has been talking against corruption regularly. It was never off the stage,” she said. Stalin has continuously spoken about the inefficiency and corruption of the present AIADMK government in the State, and the DMK never ceased to talk against corruption, she emphasised.

Asked about her role in the DMK, she said the party and senior leaders understood the ulterior motives behind the 2G case. “So it was not as if I was pushed off stage. But now I have more time to give to the party, do my work better. I no longer have to appear in court,” she pointed out.

Her immediate priorities, she said, are to “focus on the DMK women’s wing and empower it, not just as an element of the party, but socially”.

“When I was brought in, Thalapathy told me I should help fulfil this objective. I am working on this promise,” she added.

“People have lost confidence in the present government,” said Kanimozhi. “And they are looking at DMK as the only option.” Everybody wants an election as soon as possible, she added.

So why did the DMK face such a drubbing in the recent by-election in RK Nagar? “It was money at play,” she said. “The DMK had made a clear decision of not paying voters. We repeatedly represented to the Election Commission. No action was taken. It was not a democratic election.”

But thankfully this culture is going away, she felt. People understand that if they sell their votes for money they lose the right to question their representatives. Leaders will not deliver on their promises.

Under the present circumstance, the DMK is the obvious choice for the people, she said.

“I think people understand that they need a serious politician, a leader at the forefront. That is Stalin. He has the experience as a legislator, mayor and as a Deputy Chief Minister. He has risen from the party cadres and come to where he is by the dint of 45 years of hard work.”

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