Nilgiris MP and Deputy General Secretary of the DMK, A Raja, has sparked controversy within the DMK alliance by mocking communists. He stated that while communism’s ideology is pure, its leaders have become corrupt, a remark that has caused a stir among alliance partners.
DMK leader Raja made these comments on communists while participating in the 7th-anniversary celebration of the Chennai Pachaiyappan College Readers’ Circle and the release ceremony of the annual magazine ‘Sol’ on 7 January 2025 at Pachaiyappan College in Chennai. His speech visibly upset communist figures, with Marxist leaders condemning Raja for his remarks.
Raja stated, “Philosophies emerge in the world, and leaders come to promote them. However, when such leaders arise, the philosophy gradually deteriorates because of their selfishness. Is there a greater leader than Karl Marx? Do you know how poor he was while writing Das Kapital? Swaminathan Sharma has written about this, and you should read it.
Swaminathan Sharma wrote about Karl Marx, ‘The pens that filled with writing could not be filled with ink. His three children died, and he couldn’t afford coffins. Another child was drinking milk from his mother’s breast, but she had no milk to give because she herself wasn’t eating. The child bit her breast, and blood flowed from the wound.’ This is not a lie; it has been documented. When this great man died, not even four or seven people stood by him, but the communist ideology he wrote created a massive impact on the soil, particularly lighting up Russia. There is no damage to philosophy as long as there were leaders like Friedrich Engels or Lenin who upheld it.”
The DMK leader continued, “But then came Stalin, who slightly weakened it, and I’m not referring to our Stalin, but that Stalin. Our own Stalin is a great leader with a strong philosophy. However, during Stalin’s era, Russia’s principles started to dilute. Later, leaders like Khrushchev and Gorbachev took over. What caused the collapse of a country that had united all the great nations and nationalities to build a powerful Soviet Russia under socialist ideology, a country that stood against the wealthy superpower America? It was because of a bad leader named Gorbachev.”
He continued, “No matter how great a philosophy is, if the next generation of leaders handling it with flaw and selfishness, the ideology will fail.”
Raja immediately buttressed and justified the DMK dynastic politics and the Dravidian movement. However, his subsequent statements stirred controversy.
He stated, “The decline in faith among leaders in philosophy leads to its downfall. There is nothing wrong with the communist philosophy; communism is perfect. But it failed and became weak because its leaders who propounded corrupt and self-serving.”
தத்துவத்தை சரியாக பார்த்துக்கொண்ட தலைவர்கள் இருந்தவரை தத்துவத்திற்கு சேதாரம் இல்லை.!#Chennai #DMK #ARaja #NewsTamil #NewsTamil24x7 pic.twitter.com/nb4agBb1Hr
— News Tamil 24×7 (@NewsTamilTV24x7) January 7, 2025
Raja’s remarks have provoked strong reactions from communist cadres, deepening the rift within the alliance. However, state leaders avoided commenting on the issue, instead redirecting their focus to the DMK’s agenda, which included criticism of the central government and the Governor of Tamil Nadu.
P. Shanmugam, elected as the CPI(M) TN Secretary, criticized A. Raja’s speech while speaking to journalists, stating, “A. Raja’s speech is going viral on social media. What he says is completely wrong. Are the leaders’ activities becoming weak?” The communist leader wanted to criticize the DMK but, as expected, refrained from doing so directly due to alliance considerations. Instead of taking a jab, he simply said, “The people and the media know how we work.”
ஆ.ராசா பேச்சு மிகவும் தவறானது.. சிபிஎம் செயலாளர் பெ.சண்முகம் பேட்டி#Chennai #ARaja #DMK #Communist #CommunistLeaders #Shanmugam #NewsTamil #NewsTamil24x7 pic.twitter.com/C2aMLL6xnx
— News Tamil 24×7 (@NewsTamilTV24x7) January 7, 2025
Communist MP Su Venkatesan, who previously spoke out against the DMK over administrative failures, remained utterly silent on Raja’s remarks. Instead, he focused on the Tungsten issue, where the central government decided to withhold the proposal. This shift in focus is seen as a diversionary tactic employed by the DMK alliance to draw attention away from the DMK’s administrative shortcomings.
Subscribe to our Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram channels and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.