He was jailed for a year in 1976 for protesting against the Emergency. In 1980, he launched the youth wing of the DMK. Stalin made his legislative debut in 1989 when he was elected from the Thousand Lights constituency in Chennai. The present tenure is his seventh term as a member of the Legislative Assembly. In 1996, as Chennai's first directly elected mayor, he piloted the Singara Chennai (Beautiful Chennai) project that vastly improved Chennai's infrastructure.
He has been an effective campaigner for social justice and federal balance. He is in the forefront of the move to secure the rights of states from the overreach of the Union Government. Stalin is the fulcrum of the opposition unity in India. In the political alliance -INDIA- Stalin plays a key role of ironing out the differences among the various constituent parties to work out a cohesive political narrative for the 2024 General Elections.
Excerpts from an exclusive interview he gave to A S Panneerselvan
What were the key challenges when you came to power in 2021?
The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government took over at a critical time the second wave of Covid. We had before us the most challenging task of saving people's lives. Within a week, we managed everything including the oxygen shortage and restored the normal life of the people.
However, due to the mismanagement and corruption of the previous government, the economic development of Tamil Nadu and the financial condition of the state had severely deteriorated.
The fundamental structure of Tamil Nadu was in shambles as the AIADMK rulers were subservient to the central government which was snatching away the rights of the state. Our goal and aim of changing these conditions and making Tamil Nadu the number one State once again began with challenges. Tamil Nadu had successfully faced those challenges and today boasts of many achievements.
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