The DMK on Tuesday, 14 January, said it skipped a meeting of Opposition parties convened by Congress on CAA, NRC and NPR since its party chief MK Stalin was accused of violating coalition dharma over local body polls.
A day after avoiding participating in the meet for showcasing Opposition unity, the DMK was also non-committal on restoration of ties with its old ally, notwithstanding the regret reportedly expressed by Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief KS Alagiri.
“We did not take part in the meeting since our chief was accused of violating coalition dharma,” senior leader TR Baalu said in Chennai.
What Did the TNCC Chief Say
On 10 January, Alagiri had said that Congress was not allotted a fair number of posts of local bodies chiefs by the lead partner DMK and this went against "coalition dharma".
Speaking to reporters, Baalu said he felt that Alagiri could have avoided issuing the statement.
Asked if the ties with Congress have now returned to its "old status," (since Alagiri has reportedly expressed regret and met party chief Sonia Gandhi in this regard) Baalu was non-committal.
“Time will tell whether it has returned to the old (normality indicating bonhomie) status or not; why are you concerned?” Baalu said.
Wondering whether the press was a doing post-mortem of the issue, he said his party felt that Alagiri issuing a statement on the matter was not correct. "Only this much we can tell you now," he added.
‘Cong & DMK Like Joined Hands’
Alagiri, meanwhile, said that the DMK and Congress are like ‘joined hands’ amidst speculation that there was a rift between the alliance partners.
“With regard to the alliance (with the DMK), I spoke to our party head. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Congress are two joined hands. Tamil Nadu Congress and DMK, I and Thalapathy Stalin, share similar ideologies. We are joined hands and should not separate,” KS Alagiri said, reported The News Minute.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)