Short of reprimanding the DMK’s allies in the INDIA bloc, the Congress Whip in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday asked them to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of the grand old party and dictating how it should conduct itself.
Taking strong exception to the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) of Thol Thirumavalavan, MDMK of Vaiko, and the CPI(M) and CPI for urging Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to rein in Praveen Chakravarty over his remark that Tamil Nadu’s debt burden is alarming when compared to that of Uttar Pradesh’s, Tagore asked, “Since when have our allies started dictating how we should run the party?”
This was a direct fallout of Chakravarty’s recent post on ‘X’, in which he punctured the MK Stalin-led DMK government’s claims about Tamil Nadu’s financial health. He raised alarm over the state’s rising debt burden, comparing it with that of BJP-ruled UP. His claim that Tamil Nadu had overtaken UP in terms of debt caused disquiet within the DMK and among its allies, who subsequently pounced on Chakravarty, believed to be close to Rahul Gandhi.
“I have come across media reports of the VCK, MDMK, CPI(M) and CPI, urging the Leader of the Opposition to act against a Congress functionary. This raises a fundamental question. Since when have allies started issuing directions on how we should run our party? Will they tolerate and accept such interference in their parties?” Tagore asked in a post on ‘X’, tagging the leaders of the parties. “Differences of opinion should be discussed within the coalition fora and not aired in the public domain through the media, as it portends a dangerous precedent and would only help the BJP-RSS Parivar,” he added.
While urging the national leadership of the Left parties to advise their state leadership to adhere to minimum political decency and coalition ethics, he asked MDMK leader Vaiko and VCK leader Thirumavalavan to rein in their MPs so that they do not transgress the alliance’s ‘Lakshman Rekha’. “Unity in a coalition doesn’t mean keeping silent. It demands discipline and responsibility. Coalition dharma applies to one and all, and not only to the Congress,” he maintained.
Meanwhile, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai, who had earlier blasted Chakravarty for allegedly playing into the hands of the RSS-BJP by comparing DMK-ruled Tamil Nadu with BJP-governed Uttar Pradesh, also appealed to the allies to stop interfering in the internal affairs of the Congress.