P V Anvar has attempted to drive a wedge between M K Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan by projecting the Tamil Nadu chief minister as the protector of secularism and his Kerala counterpart as its antithesis.

Anvar said he called upon CM Stalin, the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), seeking his blessings for his social movement, the Democratic Movement of Kerala (which shares the acronym). "But I learnt that today, a higher official from the (Kerala) Chief Minister's Office flew on the first flight to Chennai to meet him (Stalin) and convince him to give a statement against me," Anvar said.

Anvar accused Pinarayi of facilitating the BJP's entry to Kerala by giving the national party its first-ever Lok Sabha seat, while Stalin kept his word by "keeping the fascists at bay". "Narendra Modi (PM) and Amit Shah (Home Minister) frequently toured Tamil Nadu before the Lok Sabha elections. When the BJP fielded its state president, K Annamalai, in Coimbatore, Stalin took the onus upon himself and fielded a DMK candidate there (Annamalai lost by a margin of 1,18,068 votes to DMK's Ganapathi P Rajkumar). He (Stalin) ensured 40 out of 40 seats and didn't give one to the BJP.

"But what happened in Kerala? Who gifted the BJP a seat in Kerala? Who? Who? Who?" Anvar prodded a response from the Nilambur crowd. "The Kerala CM laid out the red carpet for BJP's Kerala entry (Suresh Gopi defeated CPI's V S Sunil Kumar by 74,686 votes in Thrissur). They gave a seat to the BJP by disrupting the Thrissur Pooram," Anvar said.

The Nilambur MLA then urged the public to tell him whose blessings he should have sought. Pinarayi or Stalin? "I didn't meet him (Stalin) to form a party. I sought his blessings for a secular, social movement."

Kerala's DMK wants to divide Malappuram
Earlier, declaring its policies, Anvar's DMK (Democratic Movement of Kerala) called for creating a new district by dividing Malappuram. The declaration also stated that DMK's aim was political, social and economic justice for all citizens. The organisation's goal was social progress to achieve freedom of belief and equality.

DMK claimed to be a constitutional protection movement. Its goal was to implement a democratic socialist policy based on social justice and put forward a democratic vision based on national heritage and federalism.

Conduct a caste census, voting rights for expatriates, implement e-ballot for students studying abroad to vote in their respective countries, end the neglect of Malabar are among the objectives of DMK.

Earlier in the day, Anvar said he was forced to advance the announcement about the formation of DMK due to media pressure. "There are some technical issues in establishing a political party. It will take time to form a party. I am already consulting my legal adviser on this matter. My initial plan was to announce the movement details in the next three weeks, but due to the urgency created by the media, I had to make the announcement now," he said.

Though the new outfit shares its acronym with Stalin's DMK, the Tamil Nadu party has clarified that Anvar would not be inducted into the opposition party alliance. "CPM is a major party in the alliance, and we will not adopt a policy of upsetting them," said TKS Elangovan, DMK spokesperson. "Inducting a person into the alliance expelled from the LDF alliance would be a breach of front etiquette." But he added that Stalin would make the final decision on the matter.

Arjun, Manaf and renaissance leaders on display
Display boards showing the photos of Arjun, who died in the Shirur landslide, and lorry owner Abdul Manaf, along with renaissance leaders, added more curiosity to the event. The flex boards were erected on a private property adjacent to the Rajiv Gandhi Bypass.

Anvar told reporters that Manaf, who was embroiled in controversies following complaints raised by Arjun's family, was a symbol of secular struggle and empathy and should, therefore, be embraced. A board with the inscription "Ready to Change" and posters featuring the symbol of a conch and rising sun and the name "Democratic Movement of Kerala" have also been set up on the stage.