MK Stalin Backs CJP Protest, Rules Out Working With 'Backstabber' Congress

Chennai:

The DMK has thrown its weight behind the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests against SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while also distancing itself from the Congress that has been spearheading the political protest against the poll body.

At a meeting of party MPs in Chennai, DMK chief MK Stalin has directed leaders to up the ante against the SIR and support the Cockroach Janta Party agitation, sources have told NDTV. At the same time, Stalin, according to sources, has made it clear that the Dravidian party will not work with the "backstabber" Congress.

The meeting, chaired by former chief minister, was called to discuss the SIR issue.

The DMK has also resolved to demand the scrapping of the SIR exercise and return to the ballot paper system, sources have told NDTV.

The meet decided to work closely with the CJP. The party has accused the Congress of "doublespeak" on the SIR issue.

Notably, Stalin has been very vocal over the last few days on the crackdown on the protesters. On Thursday he spoke strongly against the detention of CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of the Tiranga march.

Upping the ante against the Centre, Stalin stated that the crackdown will only make the protests stronger.

"Where is @abhijeet_dipke? Where is @neha_aisa? Detaining them without disclosing their whereabouts is blatantly illegal and deeply inhumane. The Union Government must release them immediately and stop suppressing peaceful protests. Every attempt to crush the movement will only make it stronger," he posted on X.

He ended his post with #GyaneshKumarMustGo. "The Union BJP Government has no other option."

Earlier, Stalin had also lashed out at the detention of CJP leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das for a flash protest at Jantar Mantar.

"How many protestors can this government detain? How many young voices can the BJP silence?" Stalin had posted.

He had also added that DMK will provide legal assistance to the CJP in its struggle.

NDTV has learnt that DMK has over the past few days been exploring cobbling up a third front and has approached the CJP and some regional leaders.

Since its divorce with the Congress in Tamil Nadu, the DMK has been keeping its distance from the INDIA bloc and is now looking at opening a new front in the fight against SIR.

Some reports have also claimed that Stalin may meet Dipke in the coming days, further fuelling speculation around a third front bid.

If the DMK succeeds in bringing these parties together, the move could deepen the divisions within the INDIA bloc and reshape opposition alignments ahead of the next round of Assembly elections.

TVK and DMK have been attacking each other over SIR. NDTV Photo

The Dravidian party is also attacking the ruling TVK of Vijay for winning due to SIR. The TVK, which has joined the anti-SIR protest, in turn has blamed the DMK for "enabling the SIR" in Tamil Nadu and termed Stalin as the "main culprit".

The DMK's political machinations also come amid speculation around a special session of Parliament that the government is likely to call later this month to push the delimitation and women's reservation bills that failed the test of the House earlier this year.

According to sources, MK Stalin told his MPs at the meeting that the party will deal with delimitation issue when it comes in Parliament.

While DMK has been one of the fiercest critics of delimitation, sources have told NDTV that the BJP has opened channels with the party with 22 MPs after its break-up with the Congress.

Sources in the government have told NDTV that they hope to secure the DMK's support, especially after assurance of a 50% across-the-board seat increase.