Chennai, Feb 4: Reaffirming DMK's support for a non-communal party for the nation's development, party chief M Karunanidhi on Friday indicated present ally Congress alone seemed to fit the bill and said he wanted to prevent BJP from coming to power at the Centre.
In his address to the members of the DMK's General Council here, Karunanidhi said he was aware of their thought process about Congress' role in his daughter Kanimozhi and party colleague and former Telecom Minister A Raja being jailed for their alleged role in the 2G spectrum scam, but insisted that the future of the nation was the only concern.
“For me, Kanimozhi's grief is not big. Rather, I don't want to make the nation a coterie of communal elements. I won't allow minorities to be hunted like they were in Gujarat,” he said in an apparent reference to the anti-Muslim violence in that state following the Godhra train carnage in 2002.
“How can I create an atmosphere for the BJP (candidate) to become Prime Minister? So what is the alternative? No other party has a candidate for the post. Among the friends and parties, it is only Congress which does not allow Communalism and practices rational thinking,” he said.
He however said he was not batting for Congress, but for progressive vision, welfare of minorities and the poor and downtrodden.
“I am not saying this to put the Congress in the saddle as they have not done us any great favour. I would even extend my support to someone from Punjab who wishes to put the nation in the path of development,” he said adding he wanted to keep the BJP at bay.
He recalled that his party had gone ahead to fight last year's civic polls by itself and not taking Congress along.
Claiming that some “Brahmin friends in Delhi” were working towards making his archrival and AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa the next Prime Minister, the DMK patriarch said he was not bothered about this.
“Let anyone become the Prime Minister. But if one looks at which party will put the nation in the path of communist, socialist growth, and if BJP comes to power, one cannot forget that another Babri mosque demolition could happen,” he said.
