Don't hurt me, Karunanidhi tells Azhagiri

NEW DELHI: Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi, who is grappling with the battle for the control of the party between his sons M K Stalin and M K Azhagiri, on Wednesday said that not even he had the power to select the next leader, as his party was the final authority on the question.

The Tamil Nadu chief minister also denied reports about a rift between his two sons as a fallout of the succession war. In a strong signal to his elder son and Union fertilizers minister Mr Azhagiri, Mr Karunanidhi said that both his sons knew that if they had any differences, it would “hurt him”.

The statement comes in the wake of Mr Azhagiri’s assertion to a Tamil magazine that nobody other than his father was acceptable to him as the leader of DMK and none other than the 86-year-old veteran had the ability to the lead the party.

Mr Azhagiri was, in effect, directly challenging Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister Mr Stalin’s planned ascension to the top spot in the party. Though Mr Karunanidhi has not directly named Mr Stalin as his successor, he has indicated that he would like to see the younger son lead DMK after he retires.

However, with Mr Azhagiri keen on leading the party as well, Mr Karunanidhi has been forced to buy peace between the two factions by deferring his retirement plans and now invoking the party to put off a decision on succession issue.

The statement could also be aimed at denting the Opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) charges of dynastic politics in DMK. “In a democracy, every individual has a right to express his opinion, but the party is the final authority to decide on the leadership issue. Even I don’t have the powers,” he said in response to Mr Azhagiri’s statements.

The DMK chief, who is also a noted film-script writer and wordsmith, did not let the matter rest without throwing a googly at Mr Azhagiri. “They (Mr Azhagiri and Mr Stalin) very well know that if they have any differences, it will only hurt me. They are not ignorant about this,” he said when asked about the differences between the brothers.