Alagiri denies floating new party, says Karunanidhi under grip of betrayers

Madurai: Putting to rest speculations, suspended DMK leader M K Alagiri on Monday ruled out floating his own outift but vowed to save his father and party chief M Karunanidhi from the ‘grip of betrayers’, a veiled attack on his younger brother M K Stalin.

"I am with DMK... There is no need for me to start a new party by name Kalaingar DMK, when the present DMK is itself Kalaingar DMK," the sulking former Union minister told a large gathering of his supporters at a consultative meeting here.

Karunanidhi was under the grip of "betrayers and what is more important is saving the DMK President from them, than saving the party itself...this is my first work," he said apparently attacking Stalin, party Treasurer and considered the political heir to Karunanidhi.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of Alagiri, who is the sitting MP from here, and his supporters being denied tickets to contest the Lok Sabha polls and amid speculation that he might part ways with the DMK.

Stating that he had been ‘unfairly vilified’ and suspended, Alagiri alleged Karunanidhi was not being allowed to discharge his functions as the party President.

He, however, regretted that the root cause of all problems, including his suspension, was controversial posters put up by his followers, who turned up in large numbers at the meeting.

"You have pasted such posters out of affection for me. Your posters caused all the problems. My supporters should stop posting such posters," the suspended DMK South Zone organising secretary said.

The posters put up in connection with his birthday in January had led to ‘misunderstanding’, he said.

“The party should have taken such posters in the right spirit” and tried to rectify if there was grumbling and dissatisfaction among the cadres. But they made it a big problem and complicated it due to ego, Alagiri said.

Alagiri's speech indicated his intention to get back the influence he wielded in the party. Earlier, speakers at the meeting rued that the hardwork of cadres was not respected by the party high command who they accused of being after money.

"We should release the party from the grip of such persons. Even district secretaries of the party only respected money and not hard work," a cadre said.

The cadres also sought Alagiri's permission to rescue the party from the present high command.

Alagiri was highly critical of the choice of DMK candidates for the Lok Sabha elections in Theni, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram in the southern Tamil Nadu, saying "I am sure Kalaingar did not select them. Candidate selection is the work of some other person," he said.