'Well-wisher' Jaya asks Cong to dump DMK
AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa nudged the Congress to break ranks with DMK.
By ET Bureau |
NEW DELHI: AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa on Thursday nudged the Congress to break ranks with the DMK. ���The DMK is caught in a quicksand. Nobody can help it out. Those who want to help it will also be caught in the quicksand and the Congress should come out,��� she said, while solemnising weddings of 61 of her partymen in Chennai.
Although she did not ask the Congress to swap partners in Tamil Nadu, the message was quite clear ��� the AIADMK was willing to play a role in any possible political reconfiguration. But this advice to the Congress will not be comforting for the Leftists, who see the AIADMK as the vanguard of the anti-Congress side.
The DMK government is dependent on the Congress for sustenance. The 34 MLAs of the Congress form the biggest supporting bloc of the Tamil Nadu government. Sensing that Ms Jayalalithaa���s statement was aimed at causing confusion, Congress spokesman Veerappa Moily said there was no question of his party aligning with the AIADMK.
On her part, Ms Jayalalithaa attempted to project herself as a well-wisher of the Congress. ���I am suggesting this (snapping ties with the DMK) because of the good relationship the AIADMK and Congress enjoyed in the past. If the Congress does not listen, it will also be caught in the quicksand like the DMK,��� she said.
The AIADMK leader also recollected that she enjoyed good personal equations with late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and that was the chief reason for her suggestion. She also said that Congress by snapping ties with the DMK will ���remedy the sin��� it had committed by aligning with that party.
The statement of the AIADMK chief holds worrying portends for the DMK. While the PMK and the Left have already broken off from the state alliance, there are clear signs of the party experiencing incumbency disadvantages. Although the PMK is still part of the national level alliance with the Congress, the party is known to revise its political options on the election eve. The AIADMK is counting on the PMK���s support for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
Mr Jayalalithaa���s show of concern for the Congress���s future comes at a time when parties in the UPA are engaged in weighing their political options. The NCP and the SP are already engaged in forging a pressure group within the UPA to complicate matters for the Congress.
Although she did not ask the Congress to swap partners in Tamil Nadu, the message was quite clear ��� the AIADMK was willing to play a role in any possible political reconfiguration. But this advice to the Congress will not be comforting for the Leftists, who see the AIADMK as the vanguard of the anti-Congress side.
The DMK government is dependent on the Congress for sustenance. The 34 MLAs of the Congress form the biggest supporting bloc of the Tamil Nadu government. Sensing that Ms Jayalalithaa���s statement was aimed at causing confusion, Congress spokesman Veerappa Moily said there was no question of his party aligning with the AIADMK.
On her part, Ms Jayalalithaa attempted to project herself as a well-wisher of the Congress. ���I am suggesting this (snapping ties with the DMK) because of the good relationship the AIADMK and Congress enjoyed in the past. If the Congress does not listen, it will also be caught in the quicksand like the DMK,��� she said.
The AIADMK leader also recollected that she enjoyed good personal equations with late prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and that was the chief reason for her suggestion. She also said that Congress by snapping ties with the DMK will ���remedy the sin��� it had committed by aligning with that party.
The statement of the AIADMK chief holds worrying portends for the DMK. While the PMK and the Left have already broken off from the state alliance, there are clear signs of the party experiencing incumbency disadvantages. Although the PMK is still part of the national level alliance with the Congress, the party is known to revise its political options on the election eve. The AIADMK is counting on the PMK���s support for the coming Lok Sabha elections.
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Mr Jayalalithaa���s show of concern for the Congress���s future comes at a time when parties in the UPA are engaged in weighing their political options. The NCP and the SP are already engaged in forging a pressure group within the UPA to complicate matters for the Congress.
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