Doubts Rise Over Cong Continuing In DMK Alliance
Though Chakravarthy’s recent remarks also drew strong opposition to it from some Congress leaders, including TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai and members of Parliament Jothimani and Sashikanth Senthil, Tagore spared them all but lashed out at the leaders of the alliance parties in a message on X, accusing them of crossing the limits and interfering in the internal affairs of another party.
Chennai: Once again doubts arose over the Congress continuing in the DMK-led alliance in the State on Wednesday after the national party’s whip in the Lok Sabha, Manickam Tagore, berated its State allies – VCK, MDMK, CPI and CPM – for demanding action against AICC honcho Praveen Chakravarty for his remarks against the DMK government and for meeting the president of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay.
Though Chakravarthy’s recent remarks also drew strong opposition to it from some Congress leaders, including TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai and members of Parliament Jothimani and Sashikanth Senthil, Tagore spared them all but lashed out at the leaders of the alliance parties in a message on X, accusing them of crossing the limits and interfering in the internal affairs of another party. He also wondered if they would broach such behavior from other party leaders if they were told what to do.
While several Congress leaders, including the AICC in charge of Tamil Nadu Girish Chodankar, were consistently making repeated statements that were obviously aimed at attacking the DMK and when Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi personally called up TVK president Vijay from abroad after the September 27 stampede at Karur, speculation was rife that the Congress was gravitating towards the new party in the political horizon and might snap ties with the DMK.
However, the local Congress leaders, including Selvaperunthagai, dispelled the rumours besides smoothening the ruffled feathers of DMK leaders in various forms. Selvaperunthagai even said that Chakaravarty was a BJP stooge and a leader of no consequence in his party despite his holding the post of ‘chairman of the Professionals’ Congress and Data Analytics’ officially.
Several other leaders, too, objected to his unsavory remarks on the State’s economy but came under attack from Tagore, who named the prominent ones and told them that differences within an alliance should be sorted out internally and not in public. Tagore said that such comments would only weaken the combined strength of the forces opposed to the BJP-RSS and provoke the dignity of the party’s workers.
Ever since Congress leaders like Chodankar and Chakravarty, who had nothing much to do with the State politically, started speaking openly on the need for share in power or for more seats in the elections, the DMK leaders felt uneasy about it and their sentiments were conveyed to Selvaperunthagai on a regular basis. But now Tagore, an MP from Tamil Nadu, had joined the brigade expressing resentment over not just the DMK but other alliance partners.
Such a development has given rise to speculations by the political grapevine on the Congress walking out of the alliance and into the TVK camp. Tagore had named all the leaders of the DMK alliance who had spoken against Chakarvarty while accusing them of crossing the limits and violating alliance ethics, which has exacerbated the volatile situation in the alliance.
As some observers point out, Tagore would not have joined the debate from nowhere without the party high command’s nod and that could perhaps be a way of the Congress preparing the ground for severing ties with the DMK.
