Asserting that the BJP cannot be allowed to win Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister and ruling DMK president M.K. Stalin on Sunday dared Union Home Minister and BJP strategist Amit Shah, saying that even if he brings the entire army of the Sangh Parivar, Tamil Nadu will remain insurmountable.
Reacting to Shah’s recent remark that after Bihar, the BJP’s next target is Tamil Nadu, the DMK chief said, “Tamil Nadu will remain insurmountable for the saffron Parivar to scale. It will continue to be so even if Amit Shah brings the entire army of the Sangh Parivar; he cannot win the state.”
Stalin was addressing the North Zone meeting of DMK Youth Wing functionaries at the pilgrim town of Tiruvannamalai in the evening. “We will embrace you if you come with love, but if you come with hatred and arrogance, we will defeat you,” he said, citing a popular punch dialogue by a villain in a Rajinikanth film—‘en characteraiye purinjika maatenguriye’ (you never understand my character).
“The BJP and right-wing forces have become more aggressive than ever since the saffron party took over the reins of the Union government for the third time. They are sneaking into even family social media groups and posting poisonous messages. The best way to counter them is through an ideological response,” he said, adding that this had placed greater responsibility on secular forces like the DMK.
“We have to protect not only Tamil and Tamil Nadu. Saving the entire country from the onslaught of fascism rests on our shoulders,” Stalin said, urging Youth Wing cadres to stay connected with the people and take to them the welfare schemes and developmental initiatives of the DMK government, as well as highlight what he termed the betrayals of the previous AIADMK regime.
On the 2026 Assembly elections, Stalin said, “The question before the people is whether Tamil Nadu should move forward for the next 50 years or go backward. Our mission is Dravidian Model 2.0.”
Speaking earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and Youth Wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin also threw down the gauntlet to Amit Shah, saying his claim that Tamil Nadu is the BJP’s next target would remain a pipe dream, as the state has always remained “out of Delhi’s control.”
“Tamil Nadu is not Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, or Madhya Pradesh, which you have won. We will not allow you to enter Tamil Nadu. The BJP may think it is a charging elephant, but the fact remains that it is Stalin who holds the ankush to tame it into submission,” he said.
“Some people are trying to coerce the DMK into submission through agencies like the CBI and ED. But we can never be intimidated into surrender. We will trounce the fascist forces as well as their slaves and collaborators,” Udhayanidhi said. Recalling DMK founder C.N. Annadurai, he said Anna had made it clear at the party’s launch that Tamil Nadu would steadfastly oppose Delhi’s hegemony, and that the DMK bears the responsibility of saving the state from a looming fascist threat.
Referring to the AIADMK’s campaign to “retrieve” Tamil Nadu, the Deputy Chief Minister said the party should first save itself from being gobbled up by what he called the predatory BJP. He described the AIADMK under Edappadi K. Palaniswami as “a vehicle without an engine that cannot be pushed any further.”
“Though our enemies keep changing, the DMK remains stronger than ever. Just as Stalin of Soviet Russia defeated the Nazi forces of Germany, our Stalin will defeat the fascist forces at home,” he added.
Turning his attention to actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Udhayanidhi said there was a vast difference between a mob and a disciplined political gathering with ideological orientation. “A rainbow is beautiful, but it does not last long and soon vanishes. A mob without discipline can never dream of achieving anything,” he said.
He said the event demonstrated the organisational strength of the DMK Youth Wing and was a show of its leadership. As he is the Youth Wing secretary, the event naturally projected him as a leader of the next generation, he said, adding that senior DMK leaders, including party general secretary and veteran minister Duraimurugan, praised him as the future of the Dravidian movement.
“DMK’s adversaries are rattled that Udhayanidhi is more dangerous than Stalin,” the Chief Minister remarked while praising his son.
ENDS