‘Not Calling For Overthrow’: DMK's Thangam Thennarasu Clarifies Stalin’s Controversial Remarks

Senior DMK leader and Virudhunagar North District Secretary Thangam Thennarasu on Tuesday accused political opponents of deliberately distorting party president MK Stalin’s remarks about the functioning of the Tamil Nadu government. In a strongly worded statement, Thennarasu said Stalin never called for the overthrow of the government and that his comments were being misrepresented as a demand for regime change. “They are twisting and spreading our party leader’s speech,” Thennarasu said, adding that “regime change or overthrow is not our stance; it is the people who have become exhausted.” ‘Crime News Dominates Every Day’ Targeting the ruling TVK government, the former minister alleged that law and order had deteriorated within just one month of the administration taking office. “A new government has been in power in Tamil Nadu for one month. Even if you watch TV or flip through newspapers during this one month, the news is all about murders, robberies, sexual violence, and drug trafficking,” he said. He further alleged that ruling party functionaries had been linked to several criminal incidents. Thennarasu also referred to an alleged sexual violence case involving a woman from the ruling party, claiming that while those accused had been arrested, no action had been taken against the ruling party MLA named by the woman. Instead, he alleged, the woman herself had been expelled from the party. ‘Stalin Did Not Speak About Overthrowing Government’ Clarifying Stalin’s earlier remarks, Thennarasu said the DMK chief had initially stated that the opposition would refrain from criticising the government for six months after it assumed office. However, he said the worsening situation compelled Stalin to speak out. “He had said, ‘We will not criticize and speak about this government for up to six months.’ But seeing murders, robberies, machete attacks, drug trafficking, petrol bomb throwing, power cuts, farmers’ protests, and sexual violence happening every day, he questioned how the opposition could remain silent,” Thennarasu said. According to him, Stalin’s statement that the government “may not even last three months” was meant as criticism of governance failures and public dissatisfaction, not as a prediction or call for the government’s collapse. “When journalists asked various political party leaders about this, they said the DMK leader should not have spoken like that. The leader did not speak about overthrowing the government; nor is that his stance,” he added. ‘People Calm Only for a Week’ Thennarasu further claimed that public discontent against the ruling dispensation had surfaced rapidly after the election. “They say the honeymoon period is sixty days. But those who voted for the current ruling party were calm only for a week,” he said. “On social media, people are expressing only angry opinions against the ruling party. This is exactly what the leader pointed out in his speech,” he added. Reiterating that the DMK was not advocating regime change, Thennarasu said the criticism reflected growing frustration among the public over the government’s functioning.