DMK says Stalin was targeted, Cong downplays discord with ally

DMK says Stalin was targeted, Cong downplays discord with ally (Eds: Updates with reaction of TN Congress) Chennai/Delhi, Jan 14 (PTI): The DMK on Tuesday said it skipped a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress on CAA, NRC and NPR since its party chief M K Stalin was accused of violating coalition dharma over local body polls. While DMK also said time would tell whether the ties have become normal again, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K S Alagiri sought to downplay the discord and asserted that both parties were "two joined hands" and the alliance would go on.

A day after avoiding participating in the meet for showcasing opposition unity, the DMK was non-committal on restoration of ties with its old ally, notwithstanding the regret reportedly expressed by Alagiri. "We did not take part in the meeting since our chief was accused of violating coalition dharma," senior leader T R Baalu said in Chennai.

The party did not participate in the meeting at Delhi on Monday since it was felt that TNCC president Alagiri's recent statement was an "accusation against party chief M K Stalin," Baalu, also a Lok Sabha MP, said. Speaking to reporters here, Baalu, a former Union Minister 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. He said: "Time will tell whether it has returned to the old (normality indicating bonhomie) status or not; why are you concerned?" 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. TNCC chief K S Alagiri, after meeting Sonia Gandhi, told reporters in Delhi that DMK and Congress were two joined hands and lofty ideology was the backbone of the ties between them.

He asserted, "our alliance will continue" and underscored that panchayat polls and the matter related to it cannot alter the ties between Congress and DMK. Asked if the bitterness that surfaced after he released a statement over local polls has dissipated, he said it was not against the DMK, adding "there is no bitterness." When reporters drew his attention to Baalu's remarks, he quoted a Tamil phrase to mean that both differences and bonhomie were common in a relationship.

He said the ties between his party and the Dravidian outfit was akin to family bonding. "I would like to make it clear that there is no sadness or anger in our family," he said.

Alagiri said he shared a good rapport with Stalin and there was no scope for the two joined hands to get separated. "The coalition is going on good, I have told our party chief (Sonia Gandhi)." On his party reportedly "demanding" over 100 seats for next year's Assembly polls and the DMK getting dejected over it, he said: "This is all imagination. Is it possible to predict what will happen next year in politics ?" On January 10, Alagiri had said that Congress was not alloted a fair number of posts of local bodies chiefs by the lead partner DMK and this went against "coalition dharma".

"Of the 27 district panchayat chief posts, not even one, not even that of a vice president has been given to us so far. We regret to inform this is against coalition dharma," TNCC President K S Alagiri and Congress Legislature Party leader K R Ramasamy had said in a joint statement.

A day after making the statement, Alagiri had said that "a view had to be articulated and it was done by the party; our friendship continues as usual, there is no problem." Elections to rural local bodies in 27 districts of Tamil Nadu was held in December 2019..

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