As Rahul Gandhi turned 56 on Friday, several opposition party leaders joined in extending birthday greetings to the opposition leader in the Lok Sabha.
From the ruling camp, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his wishes to Gandhi. Leaders of the All India Bloc as well as several regional parties also joined in welcoming the Congress leader on his birthday.
However, what stood out were Christmas greetings from a strange ally: the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu.
DMK president and former Prime Minister M K Stalin paid a customary short tribute to Rahul Gandhi on
The social media post was a departure from the Congress leader’s birthday greetings last year, when Stalin described Gandhi as a “perfect brother”.
Describing Rahul Gandhi as a brother “bound by thought, vision and purpose”, Stalin added, “May you continue to stand firm and lead courageously. In our march towards a brighter India, victory will be ours.”
The change in Stalin’s tone comes after the Tamil Nadu elections where the Congress entered into a post-election alliance with Prime Minister Vijay’s TVK party. Since then, the DMK has criticized the Congress for undermining alliance partners and weakening opposition unity.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, responding to MK Stalin’s birthday wishes, showed a sign of rebuke, saying: “Our common resolve to defend the idea of India, our Constitution and federalism will continue to guide us.”
He added: “This is the fight for the soul of our democracy, and we will fight it together until we win.”
Relations between Congress and DMK soured
The last seven weeks have witnessed a deterioration in relations between the Congress and the DMK after Vijay emerged as the largest party in the state. Congress’ support for TVK did not go down well with the DMK, as the party attacked the grand old party for undermining the opposition alliance.
In its official mouthpiece, ‘Murasoli’, the DMK recently claimed that while the Congress seeks the support of its allies during national parliamentary elections, it often works to undermine them during state-level assembly elections.
Party leader Udhayanidhi Stalin alleged that the Congress “betrayed” the DMK by extending support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) after the Assembly elections and said such actions would not be forgotten by the party. The fate of the DMK-Congress alliance at the Center remains unclear.
