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‘No cracks in alliance,’ says TNCC chief Alagiri after meeting DMK’s Stalin

Alagiri’s statement comes in the wake of a war of words between him and DMK leaders following the rural local body polls in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President KS Alagiri on Saturday said that there were no problems in the alliance between Congress and the DMK in the state. His statement comes in the wake of a war of words between Alagiri and DMK leaders following the rural local body polls in Tamil Nadu. 

Speaking to reporters after a meeting with MK Stalin at DMK headquarters on Saturday, KS Alagiri categorically ruled out fissures in the alliance. “There are no cracks in the alliance and no difference in opinions either. We expressed an opinion that we felt. Every political party has a stand. We expressed our stand. This is not something that affects the alliance,” he said, adding that in a family, fights and patching up are normal. 

In reply to a question about second-rung leaders expressing adverse opinions about the alliance dynamics between the two parties, Alagiri said that in case of differences in opinions, it is for the chiefs of the two parties to talk and sort things out. “We have decided that other leaders in both the parties need not talk about these,” he said. Calling Congress and DMK ‘great friends’, Alagiri said that the alliance will continue even after the Assembly Elections in 2021. “People cannot be great friends without debating and just by agreeing to everything. DMK and Congress are good friends. We will have healthy debates. Nothing wrong in it. Debates are the highest point in democracy. Debates are not differences in opinion.”

Slamming AIADMK’s comments on the DMK-Congress alliance, Alagiri said that the party could not even raise their voice against the Union government in any issue inside the Parliament. “Our alliance is based on self-respect and ideology of secularism. We didn’t join hands for any other reason…We are the country’s lifeline and conscience. Our alliance is different. AIADMK is different. They support NEET and could not say a comment against CAB in the Parliament. AIADMK couldn’t even raise a single point against the Union government in the Parliament,” he pointed out. When asked about DMK leader Duraimurugan’s comment on how Congress’s vote bank is insignificant, Alagiri said that at present no political party in India can win an election without an alliance. “In India, no political party can win without an alliance. All parties need allies. We prefer if the alliance is based on ideology and that’s how things are now.” 

Following the meeting MK Stalin also ordered DMK cadres to avoid talking about the alliance in public forums. 

The TNCC chief’s attempt to reach out to the DMK President comes after KS Alagiri had said that he was unhappy with the seat sharing between Congress and DMK for the recently concluded rural local body polls. In response to this, the DMK boycotted the protests organised by the Congress in Delhi against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). DMK leader Duraimurugan also took a jibe at Congress by stating that if the grand old party wanted to leave the alliance they can and that it would not make any difference to the DMK. 

Source: The News Minute