Days of Hindi-speaking States alone constituting India, gone, says MK Stalin

Chennai: Buoyed by the party’s spectacular performance in the Lok Sabha election and Assembly bypolls, DMK chief M. K. Stalin sent a tough message to the Centre saying India is not solely made of Hindi-speaking States, and that time has come for constructive politics.

“State-centric constructive politics ought to be the norm in times ahead. No government at Centre can ignore any State. Gone are the days when Hindi-speaking States alone constituted India. It’s time to embrace and carry along all States,” Stalin, said on Saturday.

In a letter to the DMK cadres, Stalin said now it is time for constructive politics, with a central focus on the states. “Whichever party comes to power at the Centre, it cannot ignore the states,” he added.

According to the DMK chief, his party will take steps to bring together secular forces in order to implement the Tamil Nadu strategy in other states as well.

Stalin’s comment comes as his party workers express disappointment that despite the DMK’s excellent performance at the polls, the Congress poor performance - its nationalally - across other States, has affected the prospects of forming the government at the Centre. The DMK-led alliance won 37 out of the 38 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu, where the ruling AIADMK-led alliance managed to secure one seat. And in the Assembly by-election, the DMK won 13 of the 22 seats leaving the AIADMK to win from 9. With this victory, the total number of DMK members in the Tamil Nadu Assembly has increased to 101.

Congress which was decimated by the BJP across the country, however, managed to win 8 out of the 9 constituencies that the DMK allotted to it in Tamil Nadu.

Stalin further said, “DMK will be people’s voice for welfare and rights in the Parliament and Tamil Nadu Assembly.”