Even as the Marxist party stops short of calling the Modi regime fascist, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin has made it clear that defeating fascism and bringing to a close the BJP rule at the Centre is a prerequisite for federalism to blossom in the country.
“The present BJP regime is running a totalitarian fascist government by turning statutory institutions as its handmaiden! The homogenising push towards one nation, one religion, one food, one election, one examination, and one culture leading to a single-party rule will eventually result in the concentration of power with an individual. Then, his word becomes the Vedas, what he desires will be the law, and only his chosen few will have power, with those blessed by him alone will get financial allocation,” Stalin charged, addressing the ongoing 24th party Congress of the CPI(M) in Madurai, Thursday evening.
Warning about the danger lying ahead, the DMK chief said, “We have to defeat fascism and the monstrosity of the BJP, assuming different dimensions. For, the Union Government under Modi’s watch, contrary to his assurance before becoming Prime Minister to carry out decentralisation, remains as one which undermines the States, destroys state languages, wiping out nationalities and crushing the pluralistic traditions.”
”In his view, only through regime change at the Centre, federalism could be saved and the BJP could be defeated only through sustained campaigns. It is towards this goal that leaders like Prakash Karat are working and we are together with you in this,” he added.
“For, the present rulers in the Union Government are allergic to federalism and detest the rights of the states. Though the very first line of our Constitution makes it amply clear that “India is a Union of States and that is why I continue to address ‘Union Government’. I am not saying anything non-existent in law, but they can’t tolerate even this,” the DMK chief said, adding “Myself and my ‘sagavu’ (comrade in Malayalam) Pinarayi Vijayan are the prime victims of the BJP government’s authoritarianism. He called me brother. Yes, he is my elder brother.”
Reiterating that state autonomy is a core ideology of the DMK, Stalin recalled that it was the DMK government of M Karunanidhi that had passed the resolution on State Autonomy in the Tamil Nadu Assembly in 1974, which remains a torchbearer for protecting not only Tamil society but for all States and nationalities in India.
“As Gujarat Chief Minister, Modi had pressed for the implementation of the recommendations of the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions on Centre-State relations. But what action had Modi taken? On the contrary, States are deprived of their rights through legislation, and financial rights have been taken over by GST. Governors are replicating as BJP state presidents, and Bills passed by state assemblies are gathering dust. States under parties opposed to the BJP are coerced, toppled and defections are engineered, and parties are split. Moreover, States are seen as redundant,” he said.
Expressing happiness at the temple city of Madurai turning red, Stalin said even half of the DMK’s flag is red. Further, affirming the alliance with the Left parties, the Chief Minister said “We have been together since 2019, and the expectations of those waiting for a crack in the alliance will turn futile. For ours is cemented by ideological bonding.”
On the relationship between the Dravidian movement and the communist movement, Stalin recalled that Dravidian icon ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy was the first to translate the Communist Manifesto in Tamil. And for his part, he had announced in the Assembly earlier in the day to install a statue of Karl Marx in Chennai, conceding the demand of the CPI(M) state Secretary P Shanmugham, to honour the father of scientific socialism.