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.
