Stalin on alliance rift talks: 'VCK has put to rest issue, media blowing it up'

CHENNAI: Attempting to downplay the reported rift with ally VCK, Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Friday said that they (VCK) have already clarified the issue and it was the media which is magnifying it.

Responding to a query on the VCK leaders' comments on the formation of a coalition government, talking to media persons at Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi, Stalin said, "He (Thirumavalavan) has clarified. You (media) are magnifying the issue."

Specifically asked about the VCK pressing for a share in power, the CM said, "It is their policy. They have been consistently saying it for a long time." Stalin cleared the air a day before Thirumavalavan would share the dais with him at the platinum jubilee rally of the DMK to be held in Kancheepuram.

Stalin puts the onus on the PM to make the meeting ‘fruitful’

Calling his 40-minute meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi a 'pleasant' one, the CM said, "He (PM) interacted with us happily. It is up to the PM to turn the happy meeting into a fruitful one."

The Prime Minister lent ears to our demands, Stalin said. “He assured us that he would discuss the issue soon and inform us. Tamil Nadu has a lot of demands. The meeting centred around the three demands," Stalin added.

“They only allotted 15 minutes. But we discussed it for nearly 40 minutes. You gauge the outcomes of the meeting based on that,” the DMK president said.

The CM also added that they have been reiterating the demands of the state without compromising on the party’s ideology. "We will never compromise on our ideology. We are firm on that. You must understand that," the CM emphasised.