The Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Saturday appeared to bury their differences in public and decided they will address their problems internally, PTI reported. Tamil Nadu Congress chief KS Alagiri said after meeting DMK President MK Stalin that the two leaders would resolve the matter and other leaders from the two parties need not air their views publicly.
The two parties are long-time allies. However, differences crept up when on January 10, Alagiri said the DMK’s decision to not allot a fair number of posts in the state’s local bodies to the Congress went against “coalition dharma [duties]”. Three days later, the DMK skipped an Opposition meeting convened by the Congress, and said that the party had interpreted Alagiri’s remark as an “accusation” against Stalin.
Later, Alagiri expressed regret for the remark. On January 14, when asked if Alagiri’s apology had made the relationship fine again, DMK leader TR Baalu said: “Time will tell whether it has returned to the old status or not.”
On Saturday, Alagiri said after a meeting with Stalin in the presence of senior Congress members from the state: “In the case of difference of opinion, it has been decided that the TNCC [Tamil Nadu Congress Committee] and DMK presidents will resolve it and other leaders from both the parties need not air their views.”
Alagiri claimed there were no differences between the two parties, and they would continue to remain united, even beyond the 2022 Assembly elections in the state.
Stalin also urged leaders of both parties to avoid expressing their views in public. He said something like seat-sharing should have been resolved through talks, but it became public after Alagiri’s statement, which led to an undesirable exchange of views from both sides.
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