Speaking one’s mind in no man’s land

CHENNAI: Plain speaking in politics requires temerity. Congress MP from Sivagangai, Karti P Chidambaram seems to have a lot of it. Just when the members of the grand old party thought that Tamil Nadu was one state where they could hold their heads high, Karti gave them a reality check.

The MP- son of senior AICC leader Chidambaram did not mind admitting in public that the Congress party was in no man’s land even in Tamil Nadu. Engaging queries about the performance of the party in the state ruled by ally DMK, an outspoken Chidambaram junior said, “Congress is in a strange situation. We are in alliance with the ruling party, but we are not in government. But we should concur with the ruling party because we have won in their alliance. We are neither in government, at the same time we cannot function like an opposition party. It is an odd position. Congress is in no man’s land. No matter who is the party president, this embarrassment will remain.”

Karti, in fact, has developed a habit of being candid, which sometimes gets on the nerves of allies easily. He had raised the sensitive ``participation in government” issue even in the distant past during the 2006-11 DMK tenure, which the Dravidian party had completed with the support of the Congress MLAs.

Very recently, the Sivagangai MP had criticized the ruling DMK vis-a-vis the handling of Chidambaram temple affairs. Unlike his even-tempered Congress colleagues, the DMK sympathizers vented their frustration at what they described the Congress MP’s social media harangue.