Don't force us to seek separate country, we want 'state autonomy' for Tamil Nadu: DMK's A Raja

The DMK has abandoned the demand for a separate Tamil Nadu but is now asking for autonomy to be given to the state, said DMK's A Raja. He urged the Centre to respect federalism and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to "give state autonomy".

Namakkal (Tamil Nadu): Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP A Raja on Sunday called upon the Centre to give "state autonomy" to Tamil Nadu and not push the party to revive the demand of "separate Tamil Nadu". Speaking at a meeting of DMK local body representatives at Namakkal in presence of Chief Minister MK Stalin, Raja said the party is following "Anna way".

"We are not speaking here with arrogance saying that we rule in Tamil Nadu. The DMK has abandoned the demand for a separate Tamil Nadu but is now asking for autonomy to be given to the state," he said. "Periyar, father of our philosophy has always sought for a separate Tamil Nadu. Our CM (MK Stalin) is following in the footsteps of Anna (Annadurai). Don't make us choose the Periyar path. I request you to give our state autonomy," he added.

He urged the Centre to respect federalism and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to "give state autonomy". DMK leader TKS Elangovan later said Raja, a former union minister, made the remarks out of frustration. "Out of frustration, he made the statement as they're not giving us powers. How do we run the state? They've taken the power of levying taxes by way of GST. We have to decide on our expenditure without knowing the budget," he said. Tamil Nadu BJP vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said Raja's remarks "show split in the party".

"It is a threat to DMK. He spoke this in front of Chief Minister. I think it shows split in the party," Thirupathy said. In his speech to the party's local body representatives, the Chief Minister told the gathering that he will take action like a "dictator" if there are malpractices. He said the message is not only to local body representatives but for all. Various senior leaders of DMK also participated and addressed the gathering.

He said local body representatives have lot of responsibility and they should work in a way that there are no complaints. Stalin recalled that he has been a Chennai Mayor and that working as a local body representative was the first step in doing service for people in public life. "Always remember that if you do mistakes people will throw away," he said.

Referring to women local body representatives, he said they should act bravely and they should handle the posts, not their husbands. The Chief Minister said he had become chief minister after hard work for 50 years and the party's image should not be tainted.