Chennai: DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Monday said his party was 'insulted' at the swearing-in ceremony of J. Jayalalithaa as Tamil Nadu CM as party treasurer and his son M.K. Stalin was made to sit “among the crowd” even though he was qualified to sit in the Main Opposition in the Legislature. On the other hand, AIADMK ally Sarath Kumar was seated in the front row, though he lost in the election, he said in a statement.
"Stalin, who has the qualification to sit in the Main Opposition (possibly as its Leader) after (DMK) won 89 seats, was given seat among the crowd whereas Sarath Kumar was seated in the front row," Karunanidhi said. The DMK was "insulted" in a planned manner, the DMK chief said while criticising Jayalalithaa over the incident. Stalin, attired in a white shirt and dhoti, was spotted seated in the 16th row at the Madras University Centenary Auditorium, the venue of the swearing-in function. Former DMK Ministers E.V. Velu and Ponmudy besides their party MLAs Sekhar Babu, Vagai Chandrasekhar and Ku Ka Selvam were also seated near him.
Commenting on the issue, political analyst Govi. Lenin said "This is not the first time that Stalin is attending the swearing-in ceremony of AIADMK government. In 2002, DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan and Stalin attended the swearing-in ceremony of Jayalalithaa and they were seated among the crowd”.
He commended the gesture of Stalin to attend the ceremony as it would promote goodwill among the political leaders and cultivate good political culture. In other States and even in Capital Delhi, political leaders not only attended functions together but also spoke cordially with each other, he said.
