Have right to propose Rahul Gandhi's name for PM post, Tamil Nadu wants it too: MK Stalin

Chief of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MK Stalin has reiterated his support for Congress president Rahul Gandhi to be the next prime minister. This comes days after he created ripples within Opposition circles by proposing Rahul Gandhi's name as the prime ministerial candidate for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. On Sunday, Stalin clarified that while projecting Rahul Gandhi, he was was talking about the "aspirations of the people of Tamil Nadu".

"I proposed Rahul Gandhi's name in our party meeting. We have all rights to say whatever we want in our meeting. We proposed it on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu. We said that because that is what the people of Tamil Nadu expect," Stalin said.

Speaking about the Opposition's mega rally in Kolkata on Saturday, Stalin said the rally organised by Mamata Banerjee was attended by over 20 leaders from opposition parties, including Arvind Kejriwal, Farooq Abdullah, HD Kumaraswamy and Akhilesh Yadav.

Recounting how his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi was the one who proposed Indira Gandhi and later suggested Sonia Gandhi as a probable PM, Stalin said, "It was Mr Karunanidhi who said Indira Gandhi should be the PM. Didn't that happen? Then he proposed Sonia Gandhi for PM. Wasn't that situation created or not? But it was Sonia Gandhi who proposed Manmohan Singh's name."

Stalin said, "Nobody has said that the DMK proposing Rahul Gandhi's name is wrong. Even NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said that Rahul Gandhi is a suitable PM candidate. In Kolkata, no opposition leader asked me why did I proposed his name. There are few political parties who are not understanding it and are making big deal out of it."

Addressing the Opposition's mega rally in Kolkata, Stalin had termed the 2019 elections as the "second freedom struggle".