Stalin to restart his 'Namakku Naame' programme in Tamil Nadu

The Leader of Opposition in the assembly, who intensified his attack on the incumbent regime following dengue deaths in the state, said the campaign was needed to tell the people how the

Chennai, October 20: DMK working president M K Stalin Friday said in a rerun of his 'Namakku Naame' programme, he will embark on a month-long outreach campaign across Tamil Nadu from November to highlight the "failings" of the AIADMK regime.

The Leader of Opposition in the assembly, who intensified his attack on the incumbent regime following dengue deaths in the state, said the campaign was needed to tell the people how the "horse-trading" regime was bowing to the Centre.

"Not only for local body, assembly and parliamentary polls, the campaign is also good for the party's growth," he told reporters after chairing the party's district secretaries meet here.

The campaign will begin in the first week of November and conclude in December, Stalin said, adding the itinerary will be announced in four to five days after discussions with district secretaries.

Stalin's announcement on the state-wide campaign comes against the backdrop of his recent remarks that assembly polls could be held even before local body elections.

In view of the factional feud in the ruling AIADMK between the Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led camp and T T V Dhinakaran group, opposition parties have accused them of hankering after power while questioning the government's stability.

As regards local body polls which were due last October, the Madras High Court had recently issued notices to State Election Commissioner M Malik Feroze Khan and secretary T S Rajasekar on a contempt of court application filed by the DMK.

The plea was filed for not complying with the court's September 4 order to issue notification for the local body polls by September 18 and complete the entire election process by November 17.

In 2015, Stalin had launched his "Namakku Naame Vidiyal Meetpu Payanam" (We for ourselves, journey to retrieve dawn) campaign by going in for a complete image makeover.

Seeking to mould public opinion in his party's favour and target then chief minister Jayalalithaa over her "inaccessibility," he freely interacted with people.

Sporting bright formal outfits and sunglasses, Stalin hopped on to a scooter or a bicycle, and met people in buses, trains and other public places. In a departure from the past, he had tea and food in roadside stalls with commoners.

Though the AIADMK made fun of his campaign, saying "he does not remove his sunglasses even in the dark," his campaign helped propel the DMK to emerge as a strong opposition party with 89 MLAs, though it could not wrest power.

The DMK leader held events like "Pesalam Vanga" (Come Let us Talk) in 2015, similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Chai pe Charcha", with the people of his constituency Kolathur.

On the district secretaries meet, Stalin said a resolution was adopted urging the central and state governments to declare a "health emergency" in view of continuing dengue deaths and take steps on a war-footing.

Another resolution was passed condemning the state government for giving away the state's rights on a platter, he said.

One more resolution was adopted urging the state government to hold local body elections immediately and address the issues faced by the people, the DMK leader added.

PTI