Stalin defends son Udhyanidhi's ministerial elevation

For the first time, Chief Minister and DMK president, MK Stalin has come to the defence of his son, Udhayanidhi, whose induction into the ministry has been criticised by the opposition as the perpetuation of dynastic politics. He expressed confidence that his son would prove the critics wrong through his performance, writes MC Rajan of ETV Bharat.

Chennai: Faced with the continuing criticism of the ruling DMK perpetuating family rule, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday came to the aid of Udhayanidhi, saying that his son was no novice to politics and was well known to the public. “Udhayanidhi is only new to the ministry, but he is familiar to you all. There was criticism when he was made a minister. Earlier, too, there was criticism when he was elected as an MLA. But, through his performance, he has received accolades even from adversaries,” Stalin said, addressing the gathering after distributing welfare assistance to beneficiaries in Trichy.

“He has been entrusted with many responsibilities and I have great expectations that he will handle the ministerial responsibilities with sincerity and bring laurels to the departments under him,” the Chief Minister added, expressing hope. The Chief Minister's spirited defence comes to a couple of days after BJP national president JP Nadda lashed out at the DMK for the institutionalising family rule.

“The DMK is not a regional party, it is a family party. D stands for dynasty, M stands for money swindling and K stands for Katta panchayat. Regional parties are family parties and they only take care of their family. They are not here to serve you, only to ruin you. While the nation is in safe hands, Tamil Nadu is not,” he fumed at a public meeting at Karamadai near Coimbatore on Tuesday.

For the BJP leaders in the state and the AIADMK led by Edappadi K Palaniswami, the family rule comes in handy to beat the DMK. Both the allies are never tired of raking this up and this could well be a campaign plank for them in the 2024 LS polls. Udhayanidhi, the grandson of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, was sworn in as a minister a fortnight earlier and allotted the Sports and Youth Welfare Department.

He was also entrusted with the special programmes implementation and women's development portfolios. Moreover, he had been allotted a seat in the front row of the assembly, a clear indication of his prominence. For his part, Udhayanidhi, while assuming office, had said “Judge me by my performance and tell me wherever there are mistakes and I would correct myself.”

A father coming to the aid of his son is nothing unusual. Despite the DMK first family's iron grip over the party and the rank and file rallying behind the crown prince, the charge of dynastic politics refuses to fade away requiring Stalin to fend off criticism and lend his protective arm around his son.