New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu unit of the Congress is heading for a vertical split, with former Union minister G.K. Vasan indicating that he may break away from the party and revive the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC), formed by his later father G.K. Moopanar in 1996.
Whether this will be confined to Tamil Nadu or spread to other states where the party continues to remain weak will be seen in the coming days.
“I will announce my next plan of action on November 3,” Mr Vasan old reporters in Chennai on Saturday after holding consultations for the second day with his supporters, which included former MLAs Vellore Gnanasekaran and Vidiyal Sekar.
His indication of reviving the TMC came on a day when Congress chief Sonia Gandhi appointed E.V.K.S. Elangovan as the new Tamil Nadu Congress president in place of B.S. Gnanadesikan.
Mr Gnanadesikan who was upset over his “neglect” by the AICC, resigned. AICC general secretary and in-charge of Tamil Nadu affairs of the party Mukul Wasnik announced in New Delhi that Mrs Gandhi accepted the resignation of Mr Gnanadesikan and appointed Mr Elangovan to the post.
In Chennai, Mr Vasan left no one in doubt about his next plan by raising the “Valamana Tamilagam, Valimayana Bharatham (prosperous Tamil Nadu, vibrant India)” slogan coined during the founding of the TMC by his father. The TMC later merged with the Congress in 2002.
“In Tamil Nadu, the movement (Congress) can be strengthened only by invoking the legacy of Kamaraj and Moopanar,” he said in an obvious reference to the tussle with the high command over the issue of membership cards.
He and his supporters like Mr Gnanadesikan had alleged that the Congress high command had not allowed them to use images of Kamaraj and Moopanar on the cards.
Describing the situation arising out of the resignations of his followers Mr Gnanadesikan and treasurer Covai Thangam as “abnormal,” Mr Vasan said even after this, the AICC’s denial to “allegations” were “unacceptable.”
He accused, “When Gnanadesikan wanted to speed up the membership drive, the diktat of the AICC to postpone it had an ulterior motive.”
