Murugan's RSS remark forces AIADMK to defend its commitment to ideology

CHENNAI: In an attempt to counter TVK leader Vijay's criticism of the AIADMK leadership, Union Minister L Murugan has placed the Dravidian major in further embarrassment.

The former state BJP chief remarked that there was "nothing wrong on the part of the AIADMK in following the RSS," thereby pushing the AIADMK on the defensive on the party's core ideology and placing its leadership in an inescapable position - forced to defend both its political correctness and its traditionally uncompromising ideological stance.

Exacerbating the existing problems faced by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, who is still in the phase of trying to justify his four-month-old decision to revive the alliance with the BJP and remains under pressure over the persistent issue of a "coalition government", the Union Minister's remarks left many senior AIADMK leaders fuming.

Vijay's remarks at the Madurai Conference, alluding to the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS, of controlling the half-century-old party founded by yesteryear star MG Ramachandran. Many leaders who had hit back at Vijay for his criticism of the party's leadership, however, chose to remain silent on the Union Minister's statement on Wednesday. One exception was former AIADMK minister Sellur K Raju, who resorted to damage control by asserting that the party is "neither a slave nor a master to anyone".

This development has once again placed the AIADMK leadership on a sticky wicket, further strengthening the DMK-led front's narrative that the AIADMK is drifting away from its Dravidian roots and aiding the saffron party and its Hindutva politics in gaining ground in TN.

Deputy General Secretary of AIADMK, K P Munusamy, shrugged off Murugan's controversial remark, stating that the party's "aim is to unseat Chief Minister MK Stalin-led government in the upcoming Assembly election", and that they were not diverting attention to "any other issues." He declined to comment on Murugan's remarks, citing the need to "avoid unwanted friction in the alliance.”

Differing from KP Munusyamy's stand, some senior leaders said they cannot afford to overlook such developments. "If we do so, it will only help the DMK capitalise on them and reinforce their narrative against us as the elections draw closer," said a former district secretary from Vellore, a constituency with a significant Muslim vote share.

According to Dravidian analyst and author S Kumana Rasan, the AIADMK is now caught in the clutches of the BJP and could soon face the same fate as the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. "The Union minister's remark is an early sign of the BJP's strategy to replace the AIADMK as the primary opposition to the DMK. We have seen this happen in Maharashtra, Goa, Bihar, and Odisha, " Rasan said. He further alleged that Palaniswami is more concerned about "his own safety," thereby jeopardising the larger interests of both the party and the state.