TN Congress leaders must explain their stand on ED, says MH Jawahirullah

Leader of Manithaneya Makkal Katchi MH Jawahirullah. | Photo credit: B. Thamodharan

Alleging that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is being used by the ruling BJP for “political revenge”, Congress national leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK) leader MH Jawahirullah on Friday said Tamil Nadu Congress Committee leaders should explain their stand on Chief Minister C Joseph VijaMK documents against all Chief Minister C Joseph VijaGED documents. assembly recently.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Jawahirullah said, “We know very well about the National Herald case. The Tamil Nadu Congress leaders should explain whether they support the ED, which was opposed by its national leadership,” he said.

Asked if the minorities could find themselves in a tough spot in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections as there could be two fronts against the BJP – one led by the DMK and the other led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Mr Jawahirullah said the choice would be influenced by certain factors. “A number of permutations and combinations are being considered for 2029…however, India is a secular, democratic and socialist country. We will support an alliance that has the strength to strongly challenge the BJP. And the Muslim community would also think so.”

Mr. Jawahirullah said the DMK’s defeat in the parliamentary polls could be due to its reluctance to criticize and attack the TVK during the election campaign. “If you analyze the DMK campaign, they attacked the ideological inconsistencies of AIADMK but did not criticize TVK. We were also instructed not to talk about Vijay. They did not want to admit that TVK is a force to be reckoned with. They underestimated him. They should have talked about Vijay and how he behaved after the Karma Karur tragedy political stance,” he claimed.

While appreciating Mr. Vijay’s open statement that the BJP was the ideological enemy of his party, Mr. Jawahirullah recalled how, in a specific instance, the TVK minister had insisted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s critical remark made by Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu be expunged from the assembly records.

CM’s speech at the rally

“I was in the Assembly when Jayalalithaa and MK Stalin were serving as Chief Ministers. Both were used to strongly oppose their political opponents, but their criticism was part of the traditions and dignity of the Assembly and they responded to criticism from members of the House. However, strangely, the current Chief Minister holds the portfolio of urban administration. He should at least present questions related to that to Grants or the Dem. debate,” he said.

“Similarly, a number of ‘Call to Attention’ motions were raised in the assembly on law and order issues, Mr Vijay is responsible for responding to them. He responded to some of the issues raised during the debate. We have to look at his speech and compare how much he spoke about the issues raised by the MLAs and how much he spoke about unrelated issues – like Sarkaria and the Dets Commission report at all relevant to the Dets Commission report,” he asked. with the leader of the MMK.

Published – 11 Sep 2026 22:39 IST