Chennai: Former minister and AIADMK organisational secretary Anwhar Raajhaa met chief minister M K Stalin in the city and joined DMK on Monday.Raajhaa criticised BJP as well as AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami after joining DMK and praised Stalin as a leader with no opponents to match his stature. “The agenda of BJP is to destroy AIADMK so that it can put up a fight with DMK as a political rival in TN. BJP is a negative force in TN,” Raajhaa told reporters. Praising Stalin for his stiff opposition to BJP, Raajhaa said, “No doubt Stalin will be the next chief minister. People of the state vote for leaders, and there is none to counter Stalin in the AIADMK.”“Seven former ministers held talks with EPS stressing on the unity of AIADMK for three hours at his residence, but he never accepted the request,” he said, calling EPS a “rigid person”. As Raajhaa reached Anna Arivalayam, minister Raja Kannappan and DMK spokesperson T K S Elangovan took him inside where Stalin draped him with a shawl. Moments later, EPS sacked him from AIADMK.Raajhaa’s entry into DMK is expected to add strength to the party in his native Ramanathapuram district. A loyalist of former CM M G Ramachandran, Raajhaa was a minister in Jayalalithaa’s cabinet from 2001 to 2006. He was also elected as Lok Sabha MP from Ramanathapuram constituency in 2014.When AIADMK supported the bills on CAA and triple talaq in parliament, Raajhaa criticised BJP. He was also critical of AIADMK’s alliance with BJP and said the saffron party could never get a foothold in TN.
