Chennai, January 8
After a gap of 24 years, the Congress and the DMK today clinched an alliance deal for contesting the Lok Sabha poll and agreed to work together to defeat “communal forces” in the country and to form a “secular” government at the Centre.
Both parties were in alliance in 1980, when former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi stormed back to power after the Congress debacle in the 1977 poll.
Announcing the formation of the alliance, senior Congress leader and Congress President Sonia Gandhi’s special emissary Dr Manmohan Singh and DMK President M Karunanidhi told a joint press meet that “we have agreed to work together to defeat the communal forces in the country and to form a secular government at the Centre”.
The modalities of seat- sharing would be discussed after the announcement of the Lok Sabha poll, both leaders said after an hourlong luncheon meeting at Mr Karunanidhi’s residence.
Mr Manmohan Singh said: “I have come here to establish a new relationship of trust and confidence with DMK leader M Karunanidhi and his party”.
On the Prime Ministerial candidate of the alliance, he said: “The Prime Minister
will be decided by the people and the leaders of secular parties”.
Asked whether it would be disadvantageous for the front to go to the people without a Prime Ministerial candidate, he said: “I do not think that we are at a disadvantage”.
On whether he would be the Prime Ministerial candidate of the front, Mr Manmohan Singh said: “I am not in the race. It has to be decided by all leaders of the secular front”.
Asked who would lead the alliance in Tamil Nadu, Mr Karunanidhi said DMK would lead the alliance. “I do not want to be leader of the alliance, but others want me to be the leader”, he said.
Mr Manmohan Singh said Mr Karunanidhi was not a leader of Tamil Nadu alone, but “a great leader and one of the builders of the nation. His life and work has inspired many in the country”.
Mr Karunanidhi described the meeting as “very satisfactory and amicable”.
Former Union Ministers T.R. Baalu and A Raja, DMK Deputy General Secretary M.K. Stalin and TNCC president G.K. Vasan also participated in the talks.
Asked if the Congress-DMK Front would strive to build bridges with the Left parties, too, he said: “We need to build bridges with all right-thinking parties to save democracy in the nation.”
Asked about the presence of pro-LTTE MDMK in a Congress-DMK-led Front, he quipped “several things had happened in the past. I don’t want to go back to it.” Mr Karunanidhi would look into bringing into the Congress-DMK Front other parties like the MDMK and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK).
— PTI, UNI
