DMK chief and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. file | Photo credit: The Hindu
As the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin prepares to step into its third year in office in a matter of days after a smooth run from May 2021, it suddenly finds itself under attack. Surprisingly, the attacks have not come from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), Tamil Nadu’s main opposition party with a substantial presence in the assembly, but from its smaller ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Has come, which has only four MLAs in the assembly.
BJP state president K. Annamalai has at least made up for his party’s low presence in the assembly from outside in the battle of perception by leveling one charge after another against the DMK government.
First, he released what he dubbed the “DMK files”, accusing senior DMK leaders of corruption and amassing wealth beyond their means. Such allegations are quite common in politics and the DMK leadership is expected to brush them off and issue a legal notice to Mr. Annamalai demanding damages running into crores of rupees. It is another matter that, in the process, Mr. Annamalai made some startling claims about his philanthropist friends, increasing his monthly expenses to ₹7 lakh to ₹8 lakh.
But what embarrassed the ruling party the most were two audio clips, which Mr. Annamalai claimed had the voice of state Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, in which he spoke about “Youth Welfare and Sports Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Chief Minister The accusatory finger was pointed at the son-in-law of K. -Law, v. Sabrisan”.
Mr Thiagarajan dismissed the clip as being made by “blackmail gangs” to achieve their political ambitions and disrupt the good governance being delivered by the ruling DMK.
Sharing some deeply fake videos on Twitter, in a video statement, Mr Thiagarajan said, “If such authentic looking videos can be machine generated, imagine what can be done with audio files.” Is.”
Amid speculation that Mr Thiagarajan may be dropped from the cabinet, or he may resign voluntarily, the Chief Minister broke his silence on the issue, saying he was not ready to talk about the audio clippings as finance The minister gave an explanation. But what remained unsaid is that the government cannot afford to lose Mr. Thiagarajan as that would be tantamount to admitting the allegations leveled against him.
This could be the same reason why the BJP and Mr. Annamalai could have chosen to target Mr. Thiagarajan instead of other cabinet members.
Projected as the right person with the right prescription for all those grappling with Tamil Nadu’s financial problems, Mr. Thiagarajan raised the image of the Tamil Nadu government by involving world-renowned economists including Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo in the chief minister’s economic affairs succeeded in promoting Advisory Committee. He also suggested measures to fill the state coffers with proper management of mines and commercial taxes. He also left no stone unturned to take on the right wingers.
Mr Thiagarajan, who was the center of attraction for the Tamil Nadu cabinet, gradually turned controversial, with his social media postings indicating “discomfort” at continuing in the cabinet. However, he quickly disowned them. His efforts to tighten the belt and bring in Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission departments to recruit him so far were not taken in the right spirit by his own party men.
He has survived because of Mr. Stalin, who has got his house in order for now. But the chief minister will ensure that his family, cabinet colleagues and party men do not, knowingly or unknowingly, play into the hands of his political enemies, including the BJP, which has also been accused of rewarding some office-bearers with criminal and dubious antecedents in Tamil It seems. Nadu.
The BJP is trying to project itself as a political force by taking advantage of the “divided house of the AIADMK” and portraying the DMK as a corrupt regime. DMK needs to be saved. As for vocal claims on Dravidian ideology, the Dravidian model of government and development, and inclusive growth, it does not mean that the DMK can rest on its laurels.
kolappan.b@thehindu.co.in