Betrayal: Baalu slams Cong for severing ties with DMK

HOurs after the u.s. Congress cut off its decades-long confederation with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to get together custody with the actor-turned-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Wednesday to form a government in Tamil Nadu, senior DMK leader TR Baalu accused the Congress of “betraying” the people who voted for them.“It (Congress) has betrayed the people who voted believing a DMK-led government would be formed,” Baalu, the DMK treasurer, said in a statement.Earlier in the day, Congress Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar, along with party’s state unit chief K Selvaperunthagai, and the five newly elected legislators, called on Vijay at the TVK party office and handed over a letter of support to form the government.It came two days after the TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Tamil Nadu assembly in the April 23 elections, but fell short by 10 seats from the majority mark of 118. Vijay’s party has received the support of the Congress, which has won five seats, but is yet to secure explicit backing from any other party. The DMK and AIADMK won 59 and 47 seats, respectively.Responding to the AICC issuing a letter of support to the TVK, Baalu said it has revealed the “true nature” they (the Congress) had kept hidden for some time. The DMK leader added that whenever the Congress faced crises, the Dravidian party stood by them as a close ally.“We paid a heavy price for that, yet accepted it with an open heart,” Baalu said. “Just as the BJP resorts to shortcuts to grab power in various states, the Congress has done the same in Tamil Nadu.”Chodankar said the state Congress has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government, citing Vijay’s request seeking support. Talking to reporters after meeting Vijay, the Congress in-charge said the party would be part of the new government.“We will not just support from outside,” he said. “For us the people’s mandate is supreme. We respect people’s mandate.”Following the announcement, Congress workers and supporters burst firecrackers at the party state headquarters Satyamurthi Bhavan in Chennai.The DMK was one of the oldest allies of the Congress and the two parties joined hands for the first time in 1971. The DMK was part of the UPA regimes from 2004 to 2013. Before the 2014 general elections, the DMK and Congress parted ways before reviving their alliance in 2016.Senior Congress MP Manickam Tagore, who has been vocal about forming an alliance with the TVK, said the people’s verdict has gone against the DMK government and half the ministers in the state cabinet have lost their seats.“We faced collateral damage for no fault of ours. Now, BJP is eyeing Tamil Nadu. The question before us is clear: Should we stand with those rejected by the people’s verdict or should we unite with the force that fought against BJP and fight to stop BJP from ruling Tamil Nadu?” he said in a social media post on Wednesday.Echoing similar views, his party colleague and Karur MP S Jothimani said her party has taken a “political stand” for the welfare of the people. “It is best that we part from the alliance with mutual respect. Both sides should avoid using harsh words.”