Chennai: In a veiled attack on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi, Chief Minister and DMK President, M K Stalin on Friday said some persons holding high offices were questioning the Dravidian ideology and its governance model, though the people do not attach value to such criticism.
In an apparent reference to Ravi, the ruling party chief said 'he' must continue to be in office and it would further strengthen the DMK's campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Addressing a function here, Stalin said Tamil Nadu, led by late DMK patriarch and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, came forward to implement the 33 per cent reservation for women after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi brought in quotas for women in Panchayati Raj, local self-governments.
When other states hesitated, Tamil Nadu was the first state to march ahead in this regard, and 'this is the Dravidian model' of governance, he said.
Against the background of Governor Ravi denouncing recently as well the Aryan-Dravidian racial theory, Stalin, without naming anyone, said some persons holding high offices were asking 'what is Dravidam?." Such was the significance of the Dravidian ideology--model of governance that it has prompted some to question it and that is 'Dravidam', he said.
'Dravidam,' a Tamil word, when used by the ruling DMK leaders, has a reference to the DMK regime's social justice-led Dravidian model of governance, inspired by the Dravidian political ideology, the Dravidian stalwarts and the over a century-old Dravidian movement.
Stalin, again, without naming Ravi, said he should continue to be the Tamil Nadu Governor, which would go on to further strengthen the DMK's campaign. "I would like to urge Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to not shift the Governor here. He should be here until the Lok Sabha polls, at the least."
The DMK president said though the Governor was speaking about anything and everything that he thought of, the people were not interested in it.
Ravi's remarks on policy matters such as the NEET and ideological questions have often shown sharp divergence between him and the Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK regime led by Stalin.
Asserting that the DMK regime is fulfilling all of its electoral promises continuously, the DMK president expressed confidence that the INDIA opposition alliance would be hugely victorious in state polls in five states.
He reiterated that the BJP-led Centre would be dislodged following the saffron party's defeat in the LS polls next year. Stalin urged party workers and supporters to be prepared for the 2024 general elections.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)