MK Stalin's move will benefit leaders from his DMK along with the Congress, Left and DMDK.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Friday ordered the withdrawal of around 130 defamation cases filed against politicians between 2012 and 2021 when the opposition AIADMK was in power.
The move will benefit leaders from his DMK party along with the Congress, Left and actor-turned-politician Vijayakanth's DMDK.
DMDK chief Vijayakanth, his wife Premalatha, Congress leader EVKS Elangovan, DMK MPs Kanimozhi and Dayanidhi Maran are among those in the list.
A case against social activist and convenor of anti-corruption NGO Arappor Iyakkam Jayaram Venkatesan has also been dropped.
The announcement comes a day after Mr Stalin ordered the withdrawal of 90 defamation cases against journalists, dailies and television channels.
The move was a step towards fulfilling DMK's election promise that "all defamatory cases filed against journalists out of vengeance" would be withdrawn, the government said in a statement.
The cases were filed between 2012 and February 2021 against editors, printers and publishers of newspapers and television channels under the AIADMK government.
Riding on a wave of resentment against the older regime, Mr Stalin's party came to power in May this year, defeating the AIADMK in the first state elections held after the death of the two parties' mentors - M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa.
Recently Chief Minister MK Stalin visited Vijayakanth at his home, seen as an attempt to woo party to the DMK's fold ahead of the upcoming local body polls.
The DMK government's latest gesture too, director at the actor-turned-politician and his wife is being seen as yet another step towards that. DMDK, an AIADMK, ally did not win any seat in the recent assembly polls.