TN CM’s conference in Delhi on April 3 to see a congregation of Opposition leaders

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday, April 3,  will chair a conference in Delhi to which several opposition parties have been invited. The conference will discuss 'Social Justice: The Road Ahead', which is being organised by the All India Social Justice Forum, which was set up by Stalin in 2022.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) sources said that the conference is expected to see the attendance of leaders from around 20 parties. The invitees include Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav. The programme is expected to be streamed online as well. The conference is likely to push and demand for caste census nationally, which is a bone of contention between the opposition and the ruling party.

Apart from the Chief Ministers, several political parties have agreed to send their representative to the meeting, including Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and the National Congress Party (NCP). However, DMK sources said that this will be a non-political platform to unite people on a common issue. Recently, DMK issued a strong statement against Rahul Gandhi's conviction and it was at the forefront of demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Adani issue.

Noting that the verdict in the criminal defamation case against Rahul Gandhi has been given by a trial court, Chief Minister MK Stalin had said that an appeal to the higher courts is still on the cards and questioned the haste with which the disqualification was executed. "It is only the Supreme Court that should pronounce the final verdict. It seems like the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] was just waiting for this opportunity going by their act of disqualifying Rahul Gandhi within a day of the district court's verdict," Stalin said.