DMK leader MK Kanimozhi said Saturday that if late chief minister J Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs in the AIADMK today, she would not have supported the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). She was speaking at a panel discussion at the Kerala Literature Festival (KLF) in Kozhikode.
Responding to a question about the legacy of Jayalalithaa, the DMK leader said, “She’s not left a legacy even in her own party. That’s the sad part. Whatever she stood for, her party is failing her. To be honest, if Jayalalithaa was at the helm of affairs in the party, I’d like to believe that she would not have supported the CAA. Her party has left Tamil Nadu, the country and their own leader down.”
She continued,” She has not left an ideological legacy. She has left a void in her party. We have a lot of differences with Jayalalithaa. We did not agree on her way of administration, but at least she believed in state rights.”
The Lok Sabha MP from Thoothukudi said she has always held respect for the late chief minister despite political differences because Jayalalithaa gained popularity without practically the support of a political background.
“Unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to interact with her. I would have loved to,” she said.
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Kanimozhi also hit hard at the BJP-ruled Centre for enacting a law that discriminates people seeking citizenship on the grounds of religion. She said the nationwide protests heralded the emergence of a second ‘Quit India’ movement. The DMK leader also applauded the people of Kerala for the manner in which they united, rising above political and religious differences, to protest against CAA.
“I think it’s time to look at it as a quit India movement. If we are going to be silent as many states have decided to be, in spite of Tamil Nadu pouring out into the streets against the CAA, I think we cannot accept or tolerate this kind of discrimination. Hats off to Kerala where everybody across political lines comes out to the streets to support against it. I’d like to see this happening in every state,” she said.