Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Friday slammed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over rumors of their association with forming the government in Tamil Nadu, saying the two Dravidian parties are uniting only to prevent actor-politician Vijay from becoming chief minister.
Political circles in Tamil Nadu have been full of speculation about a possible DMK-AIADMK alliance despite the two parties being old rivals.
Earlier this week, Vijay’s Tamil Nadu Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) emerged as the single largest party in the recent assembly polls in the state with 108 seats, 10 short of the majority mark. With the support of five Congress members, the alliance now stands at 112 members, still six seats short of the majority mark of 118 members in the 234-member Assembly.
Tagore, who is the Member of Parliament from Virudhunagar, made a strongly worded post on social media on Friday, describing the alleged partnership between the DMK and AIADMK as anti-Tamil Nadu. “Two Dravidian parties. Lifelong enemies. Became one overnight. Not for Tamil Nadu. Not for secularism. To stop one man, Vijay.”
He further said: “Congress has seen it clearly. It has come out. You cannot lie down with the B-Team of RSS/BJP and call yourself secular.”
Read also: Tamil Nadu government formation news live: DMK says ‘don’t think’ of alliance with ‘principal enemy’ AIADMK possible
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlikar on Thursday invited TVK’s Vijay to Lok Bhavan and clarified that the required majority support in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, which is necessary to form the government, is yet to be obtained, ANI reported.
The Governor sought clarity on the “magic number” required to form the government and asked Vijay to provide details of legislators who support TVK’s claim to form the government in Tamil Nadu.
DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan on Thursday evening denied the possibility of the two parties coming together, but added that the decision rests with the party president, MK Stalin. If Stalin takes such a decision (to support the AIADMK), the DMK will accept it. He added that so far this decision has not been taken, adding: “The leader’s decision is our decision.”
Elangovan said his party’s goal is to form a stable government in Tamil Nadu.
In response, Tagore wrote: “Stable government is the political language used by two fearful parties to protect their power. Will the DMK remove its mask today? Who is the traitor?”
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee also shared a picture on its official social media account which read: “Don’t betray the mandate. Don’t manipulate.”
“The discussions are yet to take concrete form,” said Thol Thirumavalavan, leader of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), whose party is an ally of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, in response to a query about a possible AIADMK-DMK alliance.
“It does not seem to have crystallized yet. If it comes to that, we will announce our position (then),” he told reporters on Thursday.
It is his party’s general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami who will take the final decision, former AIADMK MLA S Semmalai said when reporters asked about the AIADMK-DMK alliance speculation.
He said, “Whatever the decision is, our Secretary-General will make it. He will make a good decision. The decision he makes will be the final decision. The decision he makes will only be for the good.”
