After skipping Opposition meeting, DMK says ‘time will tell’ if ties with Congress will normalise

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Tuesday said it skipped an Opposition meeting in New Delhi the previous day because the Congress had accused its chief MK Stalin of “violating coalition dharma”, PTI reported. The Sonia Gandhi-led party had convened the meeting.

The Congress and the DMK are long-time allies. On January 10, Tamil Nadu Congress President KS 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]”. Later, he expressed regret for the remark. On Tuesday, DMK leader TR Baalu said the DMK did not attend the meeting because it felt that Alagiri’s remark was an “accusation” against Stalin, PTI reported. Baalu said Alagiri could have avoided making the statement.

Asked if Alagiri’s apology had made the relationship fine again, Baalu told reporters: “Time will tell whether it has returned to the old status or not, why are you concerned?”