Who will you support, Thambidurai asks DMK

“Revival of the ‘fronts’ is nothing but diversionary tactics employed by (Principal) Opposition which has been part of both the NDA and the UPA governments,” Thambidurai said. 

“Telangana Rashtriya Samriti (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, who met the DMK leaders, including MK Stalin here, had reportedly discussed about the fronts. We need to know whom the DMK would oppose, whether BJP or Congress as they had been part of both the governments and as well as that of the VP Singh and IK Gujral governments,” he added. 

On Stalin’s charges of the AIADMK not supporting a no confidence motion against the ruling Centre, the Deputy Speaker defended the Edappadi K Palaniswami government’s stand by questioning Stalin on as to why TRS did not support the same motion of no confidence.

Responding to allegations of the state foregoing its rights, the AIADMK leader blamed the DMK of propping up matters pertaining to state autonomy and Tamil rights as and when the elections are due despite being the root cause of several issues especially Cauvery dispute plaguing the state. Delving into details, he said it was the DMK which initially coerced the farmers’ association to withdraw the case relating to the rights of Cauvery water at the behest of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He added that it was the AIADMK regimes, led by MGR and J Jayalalithaa, which continued the legal battles at length to assert the state’s rights in the Cauvery issue and that the present government was following their footsteps. 

“It is only during the times when the DMK was part of the Centre the idea such as GST was conceived and rolled out by the successive government. We, indeed, voted against GST in the Parliament. This makes it clear as to who had foregone the state’s rights. We are striving to set right what they had allowed during their time. Therefore, the DMK has no locus standi to point fingers at the AIADMK government,” Thambidurai added.