Indira Gandhi asked DMK not to oppose Emergency: M K Stalin

Indira Gandhi had urged the DMK not to oppose the Emergency but then chief minister late M Karunanidhi had put democracy before his rule and opposed it, only to lose his government, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin said on Saturday.
The late prime minister had sent her messengers to convey to Karunanidhi he should not oppose the Emergency when it was imposed in 1975 and that the DMK government may be dismissed if he did not heed the plea, Stalin said, addressing a mammoth gathering here, where more than 4,000 people from various political parties including the AIADMK and DMDK joined the ruling DMK.
He said Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country to “protect herself from a crisis”, following which a number of persons were arrested and many leaders booked under the then stringent Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). “We were ruling in Tamil Nadu then. At that time, there is a message for Kalaignar (Karunanidhi). From where? From Delhi. Messengers deputed by Madam Indira Gandhi inform him that (you) should not oppose Emergency and that if opposed, the (DMK) government will fall the next second,” he said.
However, Karunanidhi told them he was not bothered even about his life and that democracy was important for him.
At a public meeting held later at the Marina here, Karunanidhi proposed a resolution against Emergency, Stalin recalled.
Soon after, the DMK government was dismissed, he said, adding “we all were arrested.”
The CM said he was recalling this incident to highlight that his late father Karunanidhi was never bothered about power but was only concerned about the people and the country.
Stalin reminded that the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), led by his party, had lost one seat to the opposition in the previous Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
He urged the party cadre to work hard to win all the 40 seats (39 in TN and 1 in Puducherry) in the 2024 elections, since the people had given a clear mandate for the SPA.