PMK preparing grounds to desert NDA: Ramamurthy

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JAN. 12. The Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) will remain in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and no constituent of the NDA has the right to demand the removal of the party from the front, said its president, Mr. Vazhapadi K. Ramamurthy, here today.

Answering a volley of questions on the reported statement of the PMK leader, Dr. S. Ramadoss, that his party would not be part of a political formation that included the TRC, Mr. Ramamurthy termed the PMK leader's posture as a `drama' and contended that Dr. Ramadoss was in the process of finding excuses for him to come out of the Alliance.

``All constituents in the NDA are equal and there is no room for a master-servant relationship. So, no party can demand that it will remain in the Alliance only if some others are dropped or included'', the TRC leader said, adding, ``by placing such an unreasonable demand, Dr. Ramadoss wants to leave the NDA''.

He said if Dr. Ramadoss was really concerned about removing the TRC from the NDA, he should have demanded it from the day when the TRC started criticising the PMK or asked the PMK's two representatives in the Union Cabinet to quit at that time itself. Pointing out that it was Dr. Ramadoss who had claimed a couple of months ago that the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee and the NDA convenor, Mr. George Fernandes, had told him that the TRC was no longer in the NDA, Mr. Ramamurthy said for argument's sake if one accepted his version, why should he now ask for the expulsion of the TRC from the NDA. To questions whether the TRC would demand removal of the PMK or the MDMK from the NDA in the light of their positions on issues including the LTTE, Mr. Ramamurthy said, ``the immediate priority is to face the coming Assembly election unitedly and ensure that Mr. M. Karunanidhi is made the Chief Minister again''.

Particularly referring to the PMK, the TRC leader said he wanted that party to remain in the Alliance. Referring to questions on bringing peace between them, Mr. Ramamurthy said, ``as of now, I have no problem with Dr. Ramadoss. So, there is no need for anyone to talk of rapprochement between us''.

To a query, he replied that the TRC would `certainly' attend meetings called by Mr. Karunanidhi to discuss the NDA strategies for the Assembly election. He would also like to take some more parties into the NDA fold if they were keen to join.

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Section  : Southern States
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