MK Stalin likely to lead DMK in future, feels Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

Endorsing MK Stalin as the successor for leadership of the DMK, his half-sister and women’s wing president Kanimozhi Karunanidhi has said that there is no resistance in the party to his elevation. In a rare newspaper interview, she takes on the Tamil Nadu government and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, claiming administration has come to a standstill in Tamil Nadu. Here are edited excerpts from an interview with V Prem Shanker.

Where is the DMK headed? There is so much talk about sibling rivalry within the party...

I do not know where such talk is coming from. Everyone has accepted the fact that Stalin will be the leader of the party in the future. He is very efficient and capable of taking the party forward.

But Azhagiri, though he has been sent out of the party, has been raising his voice against Stalin?
Within the framework of the party structure, everyone has accepted Stalin.

On several occasions, the DMK president came close to announcing that Stalin will take over the party but that never happened?

Journalists seem to know about these occasions but I do not know. Even Stalin himself is not making any demands of that sort and he is happy working for the party and continuing to do so.Whatever has to be announced will be announced at the appropriate time. I do not see any conflict here.

Do you see yourself emerging as the Delhi face of the party?

Yes it is true that I am the Leader of the DMK Parliamentary Party. My main role is to represent issues concerning Tamil Nadu in Parliament and with the Union Government.

Where do you see yourself in the future? I do not think that politics alone will be my future. In terms of political ambition, I do not want to reduce it to the level of reaching some position. I want to contribute my best to the party. On corruption, the state sees only a blame game between the DMK and the AIADMK.

In the Kalaignar TV case, you are battling it out in the court. Where do you see this going?

In Jayalalithaa’s Disproportionate Assets case, she had been convicted and sent to jail. Whereas here the cases are still in court. I cannot talk much about it because it is sub judice. But in my case I have always been saying that I am not a director of Kalaignar TV and I have never been involved in any decision-making process of the channel.