Congress-DMK rift widens as leaders trade charges

THe political rift betwixt the us us congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) flared up farther on lord's day as Congress lawmaker Manickam Tagore alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) acted as a mediator between the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and DMK to stop Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay from becoming the chief minister following TVK’s sweeping victory in the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.Congress and DMK both contested the recently concluded assembly polls as allies, and this is being seen as the first public spat between the two parties, hinting at deepening cracks.Tagore claimed that DMK and AIADMK had a joint objective of preventing TVK chief C Joseph Vijay from becoming the chief minister of the southern state.Recalling the events that unfolded on May 4—when the assembly poll results were declared—Tagore said: “As soon as the election results came out on May 4, around 3 pm a call came from the BJP’s central leadership in Delhi, which led to a conversation between the AIADMK and DMK.”“The two Dravidian parties discussed the possibilities of making AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami the chief minister and DMK extending outside support, so that TVK chief (Vijay) does not become the CM,” he said.He added: “...around 5 pm on May 4, a meeting was convened in the national capital in which Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge took part. In that meeting All India Congress Committee Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar explained the situation in Tamil Nadu.”However, late on May 5th, a political affairs committee held a meeting and on May 6 Congress decided to support the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, he said.Hitting out at former DMK deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tagore said the Congress supported him when he was made a minister after becoming an MLA for the first time and later became the deputy chief minister.“Congress leaders and supporters stood by him. But he forgot that and made those comments. This is what we call ingratitude. He should have measured his words while speaking. However, he unnecessarily said things against the Congress and Congress men know how to give it back,” he said.He added: “The one who initiated the conference call between the AIADMK and the DMK was the BJP. As far as Udhayanidhi Stalin was concerned, he disregarded all DMK principles and was eager to join AIADMK.”At the DMK’s youth wing meeting held on Saturday, DMK Youth Wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin attacked the Congress saying the grand old party was responsible for the BJP’s continuous victories in the country.“I used to think that (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi and (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah alone deserved credit for the BJP’s victories. Now, I realise that it is because of the Congress that the BJP has been winning,” Udhayanidhi said.Regarding the reasons for not declaring the political developments in the state, Tagore said it was due to a mark of respect and decided not to say anything about it publicly.Tagore further claimed that BJP will soon forge an alliance with DMK and AIADMK, and said DMK MPs have already started changing their seats in the Lok Sabha to sit closer to BJP leaders.HT contacted DMK leaders for a response but did not receive one.“Very soon, both of them will form an alliance. This is what is going to happen. The primary reason for all this is Udhayanidhi,” he said.At the Youth Wing meeting on Saturday, DMK chief MK Stalin called upon party’s youth wing members to script a new chapter in history as the future of DMK.“Let us upgrade our plan and execution. Have constructive political discourse. Let’s create a new history,” Stalin said.A resolution passed at the meeting condemned the Congress for allegedly “backstabbing” the DMK by snapping ties with it and sealing a pact with the TVK post polls. “...the Congress benefitted by contesting in the DMK-led alliance in the recent assembly election too,” it said.Meanwhile, the state Congress unit condemned the resolution passed at the meeting and said the Congress always functions by respecting secular principles, democratic values and alliance dharma.In a statement on Sunday, the state Congress committee said: “No one can deny the history of various democratic and secular forces working together in Tamil Nadu politics. Having differences of opinion is a natural thing in democratic politics.”The TNCC underlined that expressing a difference of opinion through “unnecessary words and accusations” was not political civility.“The Tamil Nadu Congress committee completely rejects the accusations such as ‘betrayal’ and stabbing in the back levelled against it. The Congress always prioritises only principle-based politics,” the statement said.