Vijayakanth to lead TN oppn’s meeting with PM today

CHENNAI: DMDK chief Vijaykanth on Sunday called on various opposition leaders to back him in his mission to lead a multi-party delegation to meet Prime Minister Modi and raise issues concerning the state. The move is seen as a bid to burnish his credentials as leader of the second largest party in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
Vijayakanth met DMK chief M Karunanidhi, TNCC’s E V K S Elangovan, BJP state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan, TMC’s G K Vasan and MDMK’s Vaiko.Barring PMK and Left parties, all others have agreed to depute representatives to be part of the Vijayakanth-led delegation.
On a request from Vijayakanth, the PMO has scheduled the meeting for 12.30pm on Monday. This is the first time that the opposition has united on issues other than Sri Lankan Tamil welfare since the AIADMK government assumed charge in 2011. Emerging from self-imposed hibernation after a series of political setbacks, Vijayakanth appears to have decided to up the ante in the run-up to the next assembly polls.
Not only had the DMDK fared poorly in the 2014 LS polls, eight of its 29 MLAs have switched allegiance to AIADMK in the last few years. The party chief’s absence from the scene for the last one year has also eroded cadre morale. With his latest move, Vijayakanth may regain some stature within the NDA as well. But, the benefits would depend on Vijayakanth’s ability to keep the opposition together until the state elections next year, point out observers.
Backing Vijayakanth’s move, Tamilisai Sounderrajan said BJP leaders were aware that he was taking to all opposition leaders. “He informed us of his plan. We don’t see any politics in this. We see it as an issue for the welfare of the state,” she told TOI.
Vijayakanth, who is the leader of the opposition in the TN assembly, also took a dig at chief minister O Panneerselvam for ignoring his plea to lead an all-party delegation to meet the PM and for meeting Modi on his own. “The CM alone meeting the PM is selfishness. Last week, I had urged him to lead an all-party delegation to meet the PM,” Vijayakanth told reporters after meeting Karunanidhi. “The CM should function in the interest of public,” he said.
“I will be taking all (party leaders) with me when I call on Prime Minister tomorrow at Parliament House,” he said, adding that Union minister of state Pon Radhakrishnan had confirmed the appointment with Modi. The Land Acquisition Bill, the mid-sea confrontations between TN fishermen and Sri Lankan navy, the recent encounter killings of 20 TN woodcutters by the Andhra special task force and inter-state water disputes were among the five important issues that would figure in the meeting with Modi, Vijayakanth said. The ruling AIADMK had also ignored his request for an all-party meeting to discuss these issues, he added.
Taking a cue from Vijayakanth, DMK treasurer M K Stalin and Elangovan also hit out at the government for not holding consultations with opposition parties on key issues and cited the example of Karnataka where matters like the Cauvery dispute had bipartisan involvement. “Since the chief minister failed to take the opposition along with him, Vijayakanth is doing it. The Congress will support his effort,” Elangovan said after his meeting with the DMDK leader. Stalin said Rajya Sabha MPs Kanimozhi and ‘Trichy’ N Siva would be part of the delegation. Tamilisai and Pon Radhakrishnan would represent BJP while Congress deputed its leader N S Ramachandran and Gopanna. TMC senior leader S R Balasubramaniam and VCK leader Thirumavalavan will also join the delegation. Sources said while PMK leaders avoided phone calls from DMDK leaders on Sunday, CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan told TOI that since his party’s state committee meeting was on Sunday and Monday, it was not possible to be a part of the delegation.