DMK President MK Stalin on Tuesday announced that he will quit politics if allegations that he is in talks with the BJP are proven true. Stalin’s challenge comes after Tamil Nadu BJP President Tamilisai Soundararajan’s alleged that Stalin was involved in talks with the ruling party in the Centre.
Leaders from both the AIADMK and BJP, which are in an alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, claimed that the DMK was in talks with the BJP. Their statements were made following Stalin’s meeting with Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao. While top sources in both the DMK and the TRS told TNM that the two leaders spoke about why a Narendra Modi-led BJP government cannot come to power again, the AIADMK and BJP perceive this as DMK’s attempt to engage with the BJP.
Earlier in the day, Tamilisai said not much should be read into Stalin’s meeting KCR on Monday.
Tamilisai alleged that Stalin was holding talks with three sides – Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and claimed he was also in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “They are speaking via someone, they are establishing a connection (with us),” she added.
Meanwhile, AIADMK Minister D Jayakumar said that the DMK is sending out feelers to the BJP, seeking cabinet berths.
“The DMK is seeking five cabinet berths from BJP,” the Minister told the Times of India. “Everyone knows DMK’s history of aligning with adversaries. Whether it is former prime minister Indira Gandhi or BJP in the past, the party is an opportunist in electoral politics,” he added.
Denying the allegations, however, Stalin condemned the statements, and termed them to lies.
“I condemn the TN BJP President’s absolute lies. BJP is nearing defeat and is used to creating such confusions. But, it is painful to see Tamilisai Soundararajan, who comes from a respectful political family, stoop so low. It is the DMK which proposed Rahul Gandhi’s name for PM candidature first, and it is I who has termed PM Modi, who has been in power for five years, as a sadist, fascist and dictator,” said Stalin in a written statement.
“Modi will be sent back home after the four assembly bye-polls and the results on May 23. Unable to bear, the BJP leadership, which already threatened the AIADMK into an alliance, is now trying to pull DMK into a fight,” he added.
Terming the visit from the Telangana Chief Minister to merely be one based on courtesy, the DMK chief issued then issued a challenge to the BJP.
“I am ready to leave politics if Tamilisai Soundararajan or Modi, the man she wants to see as Prime Minister again, prove that I was in talks with the BJP,” said Stalin. “If they are unable to do this, are Tamilisai and Modi ready to leave politics?”
Source: The News Minute