Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president and Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin on Wednesday appealed to 37 political parties and leaders to jointly fight the threat of “bigotry and religious hegemony to India’s diverse and multicultural federation”.
“These forces can only be fought if all who believe in equality, self-respect, and social justice unite. It is not a question of political gain but re-establishing the pluralistic identity of our republic, as visualised by our founding fathers,” Stalin wrote in a letter to 37 leaders of various parties, barring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He, however, did not explain the “forces” he was referring to in the letter.
The 37 leaders include Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and West Bengal CM and head of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mamata Banerjee. The DMK chief also wrote to his arch rival party All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) leader O Panneerselvam.
On January 26, the DMK chief announced the launch of an ‘All India Federation for Social Justice’ as a common platform for the promotion of social justice and to bring about a common minimum programme to be uniformly adopted across states. In his letter, Stalin asked various non-BJP parties to join the platform and nominate representatives to the same.
{{/usCountry}}On January 26, the DMK chief announced the launch of an ‘All India Federation for Social Justice’ as a common platform for the promotion of social justice and to bring about a common minimum programme to be uniformly adopted across states. In his letter, Stalin asked various non-BJP parties to join the platform and nominate representatives to the same.
{{/usCountry}}He sought the “same unity and conviction” as shown for the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations for reservations for Other Backward Classes in the 1990s.
A DMK release said the invite to join the platform was also sent to Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD), Farooq Abdullah (National Conference), D Raja (CPI), Sitharam Yechury (CPI-M), HD Deve Gowda (JD-Secular), N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP), Naveen Patnaik (BJD), Mehbooba Mufti (PDP), Captain Amarinder Singh (Punjab Lok Congress) and Arvind Kejriwal (AAP).
The letter came a day after Stalin criticised the Union Budget and ‘One Nation, One Registration’ plan for ease of doing business. He accused the BJP-led Union government of “interfering with” and “snatching away the rights of the states”.
In his letter, Stalin wrote that “repressive forces were challenging the progress made on the social justice front” and that “it is vital that all the progressive forces join hands to protect the interests of the oppressed.” “Social justice as an ideology is simple -- ‘everything for everyone’,” Stalin said, adding that everyone “deserves equal economic, political, and social rights and opportunities”.
In Tamil Nadu, Stalin said, “every grain of sand speaks of the social justice revolution brought about by Thanthai Periyar (EV Ramsamy), the rationalist who sowed the seeds of social justice in the minds and hearts of the people in all walks of life.”
“It is this indomitable philosophy that has formed the bedrock of Tamil society and shaped the politics during the last eight decades. It is because of our emphasis on social justice that we have been able to eradicate inequality to a larger extent and develop the state in all spheres,” he said.
Stalin said only by ensuring this “equality of opportunity” can they build the egalitarian society visualised in the Constitution. Reservations alone would not be sufficient, he said, while calling for “extraordinary steps’’ to eradicate discrimination based on caste and gender.
He also underlined the need for enabling people with disabilities to compete in the mainstream. “At every step, the oppressed must be accorded positive affirmation to enable them to unshackle centuries of oppression and exclusion from mainstream society,” Stalin said.
“...the time has finally arrived to stand together as a true Union of States to achieve the... objectives.”
There were no immediate responses to the letter from any political party or leader.