STALIN CALLS ON SWAMY
Wednesday, 20 May 2015 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
In a move which surprised political circles in Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin, the heir apparent and son of DMK patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi, called on senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday morning. The meeting which took place at Swamy’s residence near Marina Beach in Chennai was the first one-to-one meeting between the Hindutwa leader and the scion from the rationalist DMK clan.
Though both Swamy and Stalin claimed that no politics was discussed during the meeting, it may be noted that this is the first interaction between Swamy and the DMK since 1995 when the former played a significant role in bringing Karunanidhi to the United Front dispensation.
My visit to Dr Swamy’s house was to invite him for the marriage of my nephew Arulnidhi,” said Stalin. Karunanidhi, in a letter to the DMK cadre recently had appreciated Swamy for his relentless fight against Jayalalithaa in the Disproportionate Asset case.
“Stalin said that his father himself wanted to come and invite me personally but could not do so since he was not well,” said Swamy. It is now clear that the DMK, the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, and more specifically the second line leader Stalin do not want any stones unturned to reach the saddle of power after the next elections. The strongest rock which Stalin is trying to turn is Swamy whom he met on Tuesday.
When Stalin met persons like Vijayakant (DMDK), Vaiko (MDMK) Anbumani and Ramadoss (PMK), political tongues did not waggle so much as in the case of Swamywho has been hitherto considered as an unassailable opponent of the DMK and particularly Karunanidhi and his family.
While on Friday former chief minister Jayalalithaa is planning to make a public appearance after a long hibernation, the present meeting between Stalin and Swamy is described as a matching game between the two political outfits which are poles apart.
It is well known in Tamil Nadu that if P Chidambarama was considered as a stumbling block for any possible alliance between the AIADMK and the Congress, the same yardstick can be applied in the case of possible BJP-AIADMK alliance as Dr Swamy is considered by the AIADMK as an enemy to their leader.
If Dr Swamy responds to the invitation and meets Karunanidhi on this occasion, then political writers in Tamil Nadu have a busy time ahead.
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