NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, JAN 18
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam President M.K. Stalin has urged his party and the Congress leaders to avoid airing differences in public forums and cautioning his ally against offering common enemies the opportunity to “see cracks in the DMK-Congress alliance”.
Stalin’s comments come just days after the party’s senior leader Durai Murugan claimed the party would “not (be) bothered at all” if the Congress were to exit an alliance that romped to a massive win in last year’s Lok Sabha elections.
Before those comments, relations between the two parties were already strained because of disagreements over local body elections in Tamil Nadu.
“Congress’s statement made the issue public… led to unpleasant exchanges on both sides. I don’t want to give fodder to forces waiting to see cracks in DMK-Congress alliance,” MK Stalin said on Saturday, as he tries to keep both parties pulling in the same direction ahead of Assembly elections next year.
Responding to the DMK leader’s calls, Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri, whose comments sparked this stand-off, met Stalin at his residence in Chennai on Saturday.
In the case of difference of opinion, it has been decided that the TNCC and DMK presidents will resolve it and other leaders from both the parties need not air their views, Alagiri said.
The rift between the two parties went public after Alagiri hits out at Stalin over power-sharing after panchayat election results earlier this month. The Congress was not allocated a smaller number of leadership posts in district panchayat and panchayat unions.
An upset DMK then boycotted a meeting of opposition parties in Delhi that was called by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. DMK leader TR Baalu, a Lok Sabha MP, confirmed that his party had withdrawn because “our chief was accused of violating coalition dharma”.
The DMK’s backlash didn’t stop there. On Wednesday Durai Murugan, the MLA from Katpadi Assembly constituency, reacted sharply, saying: “If they leave the alliance, let them go. What is the harm? We are not bothered if the Congress goes out of the alliance”.
