Chennai: The rift in the ties between DMK and its principal ally Congress seems to have intensified with senior DMK treasurer Duraimurugan asserting that his party would not be bothered if Congress leaves the alliance.
Talking to reporters at Vellore yesterday, he said, ”If the Congress wants to leave our alliance, let them go. We will not lose anything”.
”If they leave the front, we are not going to be bothered about it. Since they have no vote base, we will not be affected in any manner”, he added.
Duraimurugan’s comment drew instant response from Congress M P Karti Chidambaram, who questioned, ”Why did not this wisdom dawn before the Vellore Parliamentary bye-election?”
Duramirugan’s remark came a day after TNCC president K S Alagiri told reporters in New Delhi after meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, that there was no rift between the two parties and both were firmly holding hands.
Hours after DMK Parliamentary Party leader T R Baalu said only time will tell whether the alliance between the two parties will continue or not, Alagiri sought to downplay the rift and said the DMK and the Congress were firmly standing hand-in-hand.
”Me and Stalin are politically, ideologically and personally close friends. There is no chance of the two parties separating,” he said.
Strains in the ties started after Alagiri and Congress Floor Leader K R Ramasami issued a joint statement critical of DMK and alleging that it had not followed coalition dharma while allotting seats for it in the recent rural local body elections.
The infuriated DMK which had boycotted the meeting of Opposition parties convened by Sonia Gandhi and Baalu cited the statement of Alagiri for it.