CPM state secretary Shanmugam on Monday said there was “no connection” between what DMK leader M.K. Stalin told them on May 4, when the Assembly election results were announced, and what Stalin and other DMK leaders are saying now.
He was speaking at a function in Sethur near Rajapalayam, held to unveil the portrait of former Sethur town panchayat chairperson Chellapillai and to release a book.
Shanmugam said party-switching after a change of government has become routine in Tamil Nadu, but communists do not change parties. He also claimed it has become common for some to become MLAs in one party and join another soon after.
He said even his party could not gauge the public mood that wanted a new administration without the AIADMK or DMK. He added that the CPM supported TVK to form a government as the single largest party, arguing that otherwise Governor’s rule would have prevailed.
Referring to the crop loan waiver announcement, Shanmugam said there could be mixed feelings about it and dismissed speculation that communists would withdraw support, saying their decisions would be guided by public welfare. He recalled Stalin’s earlier statement that the new government would be given six months and then assessed, but alleged that the present tone is different. Shanmugam also urged the Tamil Nadu government to convene an all-party meeting on the Mekedatu issue.
