MK Stalin calls for united Opposition against BJP & its ‘gross discrimination’ at his ‘social justice’ meeting

Tamil Nadu CM's social justice event, which DMK says was 'non-political', was attended by leaders of 19 political parties. Issues like need for caste census and reservations were discussed.

M.K. Stalin during the All India Federation for Social Justice meeting | Photo: Twitter, @mkstalin

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin brought together 19 political parties at a “social justice” conference Monday. The All India Federation for Social Justice, spearheaded by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), became a common platform for Opposition parties calling for unity against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Time for “black and white, not grey”, “no time to sit on the fence”, need for a caste census and “murder of social justice” in Karnataka due to scrapping of separate Muslim quota — these were some of the common themes in speeches made by leaders who attended the meeting both physically and virtually.

Speaking at the conference, Stalin opposed reservation for the economically weaker sections (EWS) saying that the BJP did it keeping the upper castes in mind. “The BJP implemented EWS reservation on the pretext of helping the poor among forward castes. It is economic justice, not social justice.”

He also alleged that the move was done for electoral gains and added that in Karnataka 4 per cent quota for Muslims was scrapped and “given to other two communities there, setting the ground for enmity between the groups concerned”. He was referring to the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.

“Social justice,” he said, “has been blatantly murdered in Karnataka.”

On his 70th birthday in March, too, Stalin had asked political parties to unite to defeat the BJP, saying that talk of a third front was pointless. Like his father and DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi, Stalin too has taken the lead in national politics with this conference, bringing together leaders from across the country.

Among the key goals set at the conference were proper implementation of reservations for SC/ST, OBC and minority population; reservation in judiciary; OBC reservation in promotions; a caste-based census by the Union government, results of which should be released; establishing social justice monitoring committees in all states; and creating study circles in the names of social reformers like Thanthai Periyar, B.R. Ambedkar and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule to create awareness and understanding about social justice among youth.

Though the DMK’s top leadership maintained that the meeting was non-political, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O Brien said, “We should not shy away from the fact that this is a political platform. It is not time to be grey but to be black or white.”

“There are still two or three parties that do not want to fight the BJP. This is not the time to sit on the fence. I would appeal to Naveen Patnaik of BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and Jagan Reddy of YSRCP to come together,” he added.

‘Core issue of gross discrimination across states’

After the protests against disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as Lok Sabha member, the social justice conference is the other common platform where Opposition parties have come together. The event had Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, former Jammu & Kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah, TMC’s O’Brien and Left leader Sitaram Yechury join virtually.

Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Manoj Kumar Jha, Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Sanjay Singh, CPI leader D. Raja, Congress’ Veerappa Moily, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s (VCK) Thol. Thirumavalavan and senior MPs including T.R. Baalu, Kanimozhi, Tiruchy Siva, A. Raja, P. Wilson and several others joined from Delhi via Zoom.

Several leaders spoke in Hindi during the conference while Stalin delivered his keynote address in English and Tamil. The CM, while stating that the degree of problems might be different in different states, the core issue across the states remained the same — “gross discrimination”.

Yechury, who also spoke about the Muslim quota, said: “There’s an atmosphere of bigotry with hatred and poisonous treatment of one religion, and if this situation and hatred is not controlled, social justice will be a distant dream.”

Congress’ Moily said the country is currently in “reverse gear” where social justice is concerned and there’s a dire need to “take it forward”.

SP’s Akhilesh Yadav appreciated the conference, saying it was “inspired by the socialist-egalitarian principle of ‘everything for everyone’,” while Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Soren, who joined the event virtually, said that an inclusive society is “only possible through a strong social justice framework”.

Stalin, in his criticism of the ruling BJP, said, “People have been discriminated against based on a notion of who all vote for the BJP and who don’t.” He demanded the central government conduct a caste-based census and release the data, adding that “it should be monitored with the lens of social justice.”

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)