DMK boycotts I.N.D.I.A bloc meet, sharpens stand against Congress

DMK has decided to boycott the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting in Delhi on June 8, citing strained ties with the Congress and alleging “betrayal.” The party said it would still support non-Congress initiatives on national issues, highlighting growing cracks within the opposition alliance

Chennai: In a major setback for the opposition alliance, Tamil Nadu’s DMK on Thursday said that it will not take part in the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting to be held in New Delhi on June 8 since the Congress party will be participating in it.

The DMK’s decision is a continuation of its strident stand against the Congress party ever since the national party snapped ties with it by joining hands with the TVK which won the TN Assembly elections.

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The Dravidian major said it will not participate in the meeting in order to respect the sentiments of its cadres who were deeply hurt by the betrayal of the Congress party.

In deference to the sentiments of the DMK cadres who are deeply hurt by the betrayal of the Congress party, the party will not take part in the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting in New Delhi on June 8, the DMK said.

“That is, the DMK will not take part in the meeting in which the Congress party participates,” a release from the DMK headquarters said.

The DMK said it received an invitation to take part in the I.N.D.I.A bloc meeting to be held at the Constitution Club in the national capital.

Although the party has decided to boycott the meeting, in order to protect national interests, the DMK would voice its support to non-Congress parties that take up key issues.

With I.N.D.I.A bloc constituents including the TMC in West Bengal in a disarray, the DMK asserted that it had all along been the bloc’s “central force”, since inception.

DMK president MK Stalin’s voice was the primary voice in key national issues and leaders of all the constituent parties of the bloc were aware of this fact.

The DMK had always courageously fought to protect democracy, secularism, the rights of states, the party underlined.

On May 8, the DMK sought a change in seating arrangement for its MPs in the Lok Sabha, saying their alliance with the Congress has ended and it would not be appropriate for its members to sit alongside those of the Congress.

The Congress, which won five seats in the Assembly elections, extended support to the TVK in government formation, ending the alliance with its old ally DMK.

The Congress had contested the Assembly polls as part of the pre-poll alliance with the DMK. This led to war of words between the two parties with senior DMK leaders calling this action of the Congress “backstabbing” and “betrayal”.

The verbal duel also spilled on to the streets with DMK workers allegedly attacking Congress office-bearers in Mayiladuthurai in the state.

The Congress, however, justified its action, saying the DMK had also contested the 2014 election alone. The TVK on June 3 allotted a Rajya Sabha seat to the grand old party.