Alliance intact, says Alagiri after meeting Sonia

The DMK had abstained from the meeting to register its dissatisfaction at Alagiri’s statement. DMK Parliamentary party leader TR Baalu, who was in the national capital when the opposition parties, including his ally VCK attended the anti-CAA meeting, had publicly admitted that they boycotted it to register their anger and they were not content with the explanation given by the Congress high command vis-à-vis the statement of Alagiri.

Meanwhile, Alagiri on Tuesday expressed confidence that the ties between the two parties are normal and there are no chances of it breaking.  However, he acknowledged that like in any family, there could be some differences but there was no “regret or anger.”

Talking to reporters after meeting Sonia Gandhi at her residence here, Alagiri said the Congress and DMK are like two hands and there are no chances of the hands separating. 

“Stalin (DMK president) and I have some strong political and ideological stance and the DMK-Congress alliance is not going to break.  As in a family there could be differences.  But there are no regrets or anger in the alliance,” he said.

Alagiri was understood to have explained the face-off to the Congress chief, especially his statement which angered their most trusted ally DMK. If sources in the party are to be believed, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president had even explained to his bosses about the letter he had reportedly sent to DMK chief MK Stalin, expressing regret at issuing the joint-statement.

Understandably, the Congress high command has given a piece of its mind to Alagiri who had contributed to the party’s loss of face for an ordinary local body election. That the DMK was not convinced by the clarification of the high command was evident from its party organ ‘Murasoli’ making the briefest mention of the Congress convened anti-CAA meeting and that too in a small article on former union finance minister P Chidambaram’s advice to the Prime Minister.

It was evident from the same article on Chidambaram that Stalin was upset more with Alagiri and not Chidambaram, who was initially suspected to have encouraged the joint statement. The civic poll instigated face-off with the DMK had only worsened the already strained relationship between the two parties. Pertinently, Stalin, DMK sources said, had consulted his seniors on Tuesday to discuss the acrimony with Congress. Stalin would be discussing the same issue with his party functionaries when the DMK executive council meets here next week to discuss the alliance arithmetic for 2021 Assembly polls.

Barring some district secretaries in the south, most of the DMK seniors were not keen on allowing the Congress to ride piggyback on them, a senior functionary who did not wish to be named said, before adding that they must maintain the acrimony with the state Congress to reduce their bargaining power next year.