‘No one need to teach us patriotism’, asserts Stalin

Sharpening his attack on Governor RN Ravi and the BJP, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Saturday debunked the Sangh Parivar claim to patriotism saying ‘no one need to teach us patriotism, the people know very well that it is they who are anti-nationals.’

“They are not qualified enough to give us lessons on patriotism and we are not in such a position to learn from them. They have never fought for the country and people know them very well. Those who attempt to denigrate the dignity of the constitutional edifice of this democratic country through authoritarianism are the anti-nationals in the present,” the chief minister said in a hard-hitting speech in the assembly.

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“We have the highest regard and respect for the country and the national anthem and second to none in patriotism and upholding the nation’s integrity. I want to emphasise this to the Governor through this august House. This government is elected by crores of people and functions according to their wishes. It is the tradition of the Tamil Nadu legislature to sing the ‘Thamizh Thai Vazhthu’ (Invocation to Mother Tamil) before the commencement of the Governor’s address and towards the end, play the national anthem. He is repeatedly maintaining that the national anthem was not played at the beginning,” he fumed.

“Rather than working for the betterment of Tamil Nadu, he (Governor) is habitually functioning against the interests of the Tamil people. It is amusing that he has walked out without delivering the Governor’s address. But this act, he has insulted the office that he holds and denigrated the Constitution itself. For the last three years, he has been parroting the same excuse which is to be taken as a challenge thrown at democratic governance,” Stalin made it clear.

“I am in a situation wherein I have to clarify the Governor instead of responding to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address. It is a difficult and critical situation which not even former Chief Ministers Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi), Anna (DMK founder CN Annadurai), MGR (AIADMK founder and iconic actor MG Ramachandran) and Jayalalithaa have ever faced. The governors of those periods weren’t like this since they haven’t taken the confrontation to heart and haven’t let bloodletting happen,” he said adding, “ having faced so many adversities which have made me so strong that the future is for the DMK under me.”