DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has reportedly issued a set of instructions to the party’s Members of Parliament ahead of the upcoming Parliament session.
According to the report, Stalin held a video conference with DMK MPs while he was in London. He is said to have asked them to raise issues such as the Mekedatu dam proposal and Tamil Nadu’s rights over Cauvery river water.
Stalin reportedly told the MPs not to work jointly with the Congress on any matter in Parliament and to take the field independently on issues linked to state rights. He also advised them to participate in protests led by other state parties, but not in agitations spearheaded by the Congress.
The report further said Stalin asked DMK MPs not to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union ministers. DMK functionaries were quoted as saying the Congress has exited the DMK alliance and that political alignments at the national level could change after the Parliament session.
They also dismissed remarks by Congress leader P. Chidambaram on how DMK should approach the delimitation bill, and said comments by former minister Anita Radhakrishnan on two DMK MPs becoming Union ministers were personal views. They added that there was no urgency to form an alliance with the BJP and that DMK would work with state parties in Parliament for Tamil Nadu’s interests.
