Miffed by Congress 'betrayal', DMK to give INDIA bloc's June 8 huddle a miss
Around 17 Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, which is struggling with internal turmoil, are expected to attend the meeting
The INDIA bloc is scheduled to convene in Delhi on June 8, aiming to project a united front of opposition parties, though the DMK has announced its intention to boycott the meeting. This decision by the DMK is reportedly driven by the Congress party's support for Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu, a move that has deeply upset DMK cadres and is viewed as a betrayal by the party's leadership. Despite this absence, approximately 17 other opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, are expected to attend. The DMK has stated its continued commitment to supporting other INDIA bloc parties on national welfare issues but has emphasized its past contributions to the alliance on matters concerning democracy, federalism, and secularism. The core of the DMK-Congress disagreement lies in the Congress's allocation of two cabinet positions and a Rajya Sabha seat to the TVK in exchange for its support, a situation that has clearly fractured the alliance's unity ahead of the crucial meeting.
The INDIA bloc is scheduled to convene in Delhi on June 8, aiming to project a united front of opposition parties, though the DMK has announced its intention to boycott the meeting. This decision by the DMK is reportedly driven by the Congress party's support for Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu, a move that has deeply upset DMK cadres and is viewed as a betrayal by the party's leadership. Despite this absence, approximately 17 other opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, are expected to attend. The DMK has stated its continued commitment to supporting other INDIA bloc parties on national welfare issues but has emphasized its past contributions to the alliance on matters concerning democracy, federalism, and secularism. The core of the DMK-Congress disagreement lies in the Congress's allocation of two cabinet positions and a Rajya Sabha seat to the TVK in exchange for its support, a situation that has clearly fractured the alliance's unity ahead of the crucial meeting.
The INDIA bloc is scheduled to convene in Delhi on June 8, aiming to project a united front of opposition parties, though the DMK has announced its intention to boycott the meeting. This decision by the DMK is reportedly driven by the Congress party's support for Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu, a move that has deeply upset DMK cadres and is viewed as a betrayal by the party's leadership. Despite this absence, approximately 17 other opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, are expected to attend. The DMK has stated its continued commitment to supporting other INDIA bloc parties on national welfare issues but has emphasized its past contributions to the alliance on matters concerning democracy, federalism, and secularism. The core of the DMK-Congress disagreement lies in the Congress's allocation of two cabinet positions and a Rajya Sabha seat to the TVK in exchange for its support, a situation that has clearly fractured the alliance's unity ahead of the crucial meeting.
INDIA bloc parties are scheduled to meet in Delhi on June 8 in a show of Opposition strength. But the DMK has opted to skip the meeting reportedly over the Congress support for Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in the Tamil Nadu assembly.
Around 17 Opposition parties, including the Trinamool Congress, which is struggling with internal turmoil, are expected to attend the meeting.
DMK's decision to give the INDIA bloc meeting a miss is not a surprise. Earlier, DMK's leader in the Lok Sabha K. Kanimozhi had requested Speaker Om Birla to allot seats to her party MPs away from the Congress members.
According to a DMK statement, the party decided to skip the meeting to respect the sentiments of the cadres, who were deeply hurt by the betrayal of the Congress.
"Since, the DMK cadres are wounded by the betrayal of the Congress after the TN elections, the DMK has decided not to take part in the June 8 meeting in Delhi," it said.
However, the Dravidian party said it would back other INDIA bloc parties on issues affecting the country's welfare.
M.K. Stalin's party also pointed out that it has been a key player in the INDIA bloc, extending whole-hearted support in issues that were against the democracy, federalism and secularism, including One Nation-One Election, the SIR exercise, FCRA Amendment, and the Waqf Amendment Bill.
The DMK-Congress rift stems from the latter's move to pledge support of its five MLAs to the TVK. In return, Congress was given two Cabinet posts and a Rajya Sabha berth. P. Viswanathan is now the higher education minister and S. Rajesh Kumar is handling the tourism portfolio.