Former BJP president and Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari on Thursday evening said the ideologies of the Dravidian Movement and the BJP had many similarities, including fostering and learning from the glorious past.
Addressing the memorial meeting of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi at a public meeting in Chennai, Mr. Gadkari said the late leader had worked closely with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh during the Emergency days and with the BJP in 1989 and in 1999.
“The relationship between the DMK and the BJP was long and cordial and the two parties were the first to oppose the domination of the Congress. Similarly, the two parties were the first to oppose Emergency and fight for the restoration of democracy. He was the first Chief Minister to oppose the Emergency,” Mr. Gadkari said, adding how the DMK suffered because of his principled stand. He said Karunanidhi was a visionary and a tall political leader, who struck a fine balance between advancing ideology and working with parties with opposing ideologies.
He also recalled how the DMK, which was demanding a separate Dravidian country, had given up the demand in favour of more autonomy to the State, in 1962, during the Chinese aggression in national interest.
Karunanidhi was the first Dravidian leader to break out of State politics and share power at the Centre, her said. He said Karunanidhi had a good relationship with late Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, who attended the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) conference in Madurai in the 1980s.