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“The All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is no longer Jayalalithaa's party. It is Modi’s party,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, chief of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on Friday, 12 March, at a public meeting in Chennai.
Refuting allegations that the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) is the “B team of the BJP”, he said TTV Dhinakaran was politically mature to respect leaders and minorities.
The AMMK party chief along with Owaisi slammed the Dravidian parties – Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the AIADMK – for “compromising on principles for political gains”.
AMMK is contesting the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu in alliance with AIMIM and SDPI.
TTV Dhinakaran said that he had started the party “to keep alive Amma’s true ideology”.
Owaisi slammed DMK stating the party is not truly secular by nature.
He also accused the Congress of backing the BJP government’s amendment to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Owaisi recalled how the Dravidian party’s minority wing had invited him to attend a conference in Chennai, to which he obliged and the party later denied the meeting. “When a party does not even respect its minority president, how will they respect you?” he asked.
Commenting on DMK’s promise to give homemakers an allowance of Rs 1,000, Dhinakaran said, “You're not even giving money to old age homes. How will you fulfill this promise? Are you going to give away your father's money? Or will you give alms?”
“Even by mistake, don't let the evil DMK come to power. Help us retrieve AIADMK and practise Amma’s rule,” he added.
Explaining his alliance with Dhinakaran, Owaisi said, “People ask me why I allied with Dhinakaran. When my state president went and met him, I asked if Dhinakaran had treated them with respect? When they said ‘yes’, I immediately asked them to sign an agreement. Hence, I appeal to all minorities to vote for our alliance.”
Dhinakaran, nephew of ousted AIADMK general secretary Sasikala, equated Owaisi's popularity to that of Rajinikanth. He urged people to not allow the DMK to come to power.
The AMMK-led alliance also released their manifesto, promising a corruption-free Tamil Nadu. They assured the introduction of an “Amma Economic Revolution Scheme” that will provide jobs for one person in every household and start various pro-industry initiatives. It will also provide healthcare facilities for the poor, incentives for farmers, subsidy of Rs 100 for one LPG cylinder a month and facilitate river interlinking.
AIMIM will be contesting from Vaniyambadi, Krishnagiri and Sankarapuram.
The AMMK has released two lists of candidates, which include names of AIADMK legislators who had sided with Dhinakaran in 2018 and were disqualified. Former state ministers P Palaniappan, G Senthamizhan, and C Shanmugavelu will contest from Pappireddipatti, Saidapet and Madathukulam respectively.
Dhinakaran will contest the election from Kovilpatti constituency in Thoothukudi district, contesting directly with state information minister Kadambur Raju.
Dhinakaran made history in 2019 when he, as an independent candidate, was elected from Dr Radhakrishnan (RK) Nagar Assembly constituency in Chennai that fell vacant after Jayalalithaa’s death in 2016.
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