Tamil Nadu is all set to emerge as the epicentre of a series of major agitations planned against the Narendra Modi-led Union Government. The appointment of D Raja as the secretary of the Communist Party of India is being seen as the beginning of a new wave of attacks against the Centre as well as the Sangh Parivar,
Raja, the first ever Dalit chief of the CPI is known for his uncompromising stance against the BJP. “He has suffered a lot in the hands of the caste Hindus of his village in Vellore district. Since the Congress is in a pathetic situation as of now, the responsibility of bringing together all other opposition parties has fallen on Raja,” said a close associate of the new CPI boss.
“I am totally against your idea of India. It will not work and we will never allow that to happen ,” Raja had told a meeting held under the auspices of Thuglaq magazine in 2016 January. The meeting was convened by the then editor Cho Ramaswamy, his last ever public meeting. “We are planning to launch a united campaign by all secular democratic Left forces. We are planning State-wide strategy to take on the BJP,” Raja told immediately after his election as the party chief.
The appointment of Raja has been welcomed by the DMK and its alliance partners. The Dravida Kazhakam , a Tamil chauvinist outfit buoyed by the elevation of Raja, undertook a procession to IIT-Madras Kendriya Vidyalaya and disrupted a seminar on New Educational Policy of the Union Government.
Raja, who has been working out of New Delhi for the last two decades and who enjoys good rapport with all the non-BJP leaders is also being seen as Tamil Nadu’s face in the national capital. Since the senior leaders of the DMK who have been elected to Lok Sabha in the 2019 general election are handicapped by a series of scams in their names, ranging from 2G Spectrum Scam, illegal telephone exchange scam, FERA violation case to land grabbing, D Raja with no charges against him is the ideal representative of Tamil Nadu in New Delhi, said a political commentator who is close to the DMK leadership.
The Left parties, particularly the CPI-M too expressed its happiness over the development. Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers’ Association a frontal organisation of the CPI-M has decided to stage the South Indian Drama Festival at Chennai from October 2 to October 6 to strengthen all secular democratic and anti-Sangh Parivar forces, said Aasdhavan Dheetchanya, secretary of the association. “The dramas would reflect the current political dynamics of India,” he told the media while announcing the schedule of the festival.
The festival would see P Ranjit, noted film maker making his appearance along with a host of theatre personalities and Left intellectuals to give a boost to the event. This is also being seen as an attempt by the Left organisations to checkmate the political plans of film actor Rajnikanth, who they accuse of rubbing shoulders with the Sangh Parivar forces. There are reports that the actor may announce the formation of his party as the political situation in Tamil Nadu is very fluid.
