Its stand unchanged, the AIADMK, the BJP’s southern ally, says it will oppose the UCC

In the manifesto, under the topic “Secularism”, the party had said in 2019: “The AIADMK will urge the Government of India to not bring any amendments to the Constitution for a Uniform Civil Code that will adversely affect the religious rights of minorities in India.”

Alliance with BJP

Asked if his party’s alliance with the BJP would continue (for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls), Palaniswami said: “There is no election now. There is one year to go for the polls, there is no urgency. At the time of the polls, for sure we will tell you with which parties we are aligning.”

“Already, we have made known (the party’s stand) about the BJP.” At the appropriate time, everything would be spoken transparently, he said.

The alliance would be forged following the footsteps of party founder MG Ramachandran and late party matriarch J Jayalalithaa. “Our ties with the BJP have already been made clear,” he reiterated.

In March and then in April this year, after a meeting with BJP top leaders JP Nadda and Amit Shah in Delhi, Palaniswami had said his party’s ties with the BJP remained intact.

In the AIADMK meeting Thursday, 6 July, top leaders and the district secretaries deliberated on the preparations for the party conference, slated to be held in Madurai on 20 August.

Palaniswami said in about a month-and-a-half, the party has enrolled as many as 1.6 crore members, which is historic, and the party has not “broken”, and it is “robust”. There was no other party in Tamil Nadu which has so many members. All positions in the party would be filled, he added.

Taking a veiled swipe at expelled leader O Panneerselvam (OPS), Palaniswami, without naming OPS and his supporters, dubbed them as DMK’s “B team”.

The AIADMK stood for all the people transcending caste and religious lines and worked for the upliftment of the oppressed people and for protecting their rights, he added.

Also Read: Owaisi slams Modi over comments on Uniform Civil Code

Cauvery river water issue

On the Cauvery river water issue, he asked why Chief Minister MK Stalin had not spoken to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah, the top leader of DMK ally Congress, to ensure the release of water to the state.

“Stalin not looking into the matter is tantamount to rendering injustice to Tamil Nadu farmers and the state, and a betrayal as well,” he said.

He lashed out at Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over his comments on the Cauvery-Mekedatu dam.

‘Inept DMK government’

Days after the amputation of a toddler’s hand at a government hospital, the AIADMK leader hit out at the DMK regime for “ruining” the health department in the past two years.

The Tamil Nadu government has asserted repeatedly that there was no medical negligence, and that the arm was removed only to save the child’s life. Palaniswami blamed the DMK government, which captured power in 2021, as “inept”.

He referred to the release of Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin starrer Tamil flick Mamannan, the coverage for it in the media and an “image being built” that the DMK had, through the cinema as well, worked for Dalit empowerment.

Palaniswami said the DMK has no locus standi to comment on the issue.

“Are they protecting the rights of the oppressed people? AIADMK leader from the oppressed Dalit community P Dhanapal, when he was the Assembly Speaker (2016-21) was ‘manhandled’ in the Assembly by the DMK members, and a no-confidence motion was brought against him,” Palaniswami said.

He released a logo and a tagline “Veera varalatrin ponvizha ezhuchi manadu,” for the mega Madurai conference. The catchphrase could be roughly translated as “Golden jubilee resurgence conference of a valourous history.” The AIADMK, founded in 1972, completed 50 years of its political journey in 2022.

Also Read: PM Modi invokes UCC ahead of polls in Hindi heartland states

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