Rift Between Vaiko & Tamil Nadu Congress Intensifies, RS Membership Becomes Fresh Bone of Contention

Chennai: Fissures break out in DMK's alliance ranks with the Tamil Nadu Congress and MDMK chief Vaiko trading barbs. Two days after Vaiko blamed the Congress for not conducting a plebiscite in Kashmir, Congress state president KS Alagiri called him a political opportunist.

"Vaiko became a Rajya Sabha MP only with the support of the Congress MLAs. In less than 15 days since he became an MP, he is attacking the Congress party. He is not grateful to our party for nominating him as a Rajya Sabha member. He should stop lashing out at our party," said senior Congress leader EVKS Elangovan.

However, Vaiko said he won't take back his statements against the Congress.

“I would like to clarify one thing. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President said I became an RS member only with the support of the Congress. This is factually incorrect. He said this because he is angry. DMK has 108 MLAs. To become a RS member, one needs the support of just 34 MLAs. DMK can by itself nominate three MPs. DMK nominated me. Stalin and DMK MLAs proposed my name and it is not the Congress that proposed my name. DMK voted in my favour. I have never and will never become an MP with the help of the Congress. So, Alagiri should not make such statements in the future.” said Vaiko.

Senior leaders from the DMK we reached out to did not want to comment on the issue.

On Monday, Vaiko in his speech in the Rajya Sabha said: “Jawaharlal Nehru promised to hold a plebiscite. A fraud was committed by the Congress party. I have all the respect for Nehru. I bow my respect to Jawaharlal Nehru but the promise was not kept about the plebiscite...Now I tell you...all these years, you killed democracy — Congress party.” Sheikh Abdullah had told me: “My young friend from Tamil Nadu, don’t forget,there is no place in the dictionary of Indian politcail history either for friendship or for gratitude in Congress party. You have not only bifurcated but the nomenclature itself has been changed. When Puducherry is claiming statehood, you are equating it with the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory of Ladakh.”