TRC quits NDA

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 28. The Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) today quit the National Democratic Alliance in the State and at the national level, protesting the `measly' offer of seats to the party and inclusion of

newly-formed `casteist' outfits in the DMK front. ``I am leaving the NDA with a heavy heart after witnessing the mockery of a seat-sharing exercise in the DMK front'', the TRC president, Mr. Ramamurthy, declared, after a meeting of his party's political affairs committee here. The TRC would decide `soon' on whether to support the AIADMK front. ``Our options are wide open'', he claimed.

However, Mr. Ramamurthy said his stand on the PMK, which had quit the NDA barely two months ago following a bitter confrontation with the TRC, had not changed ``even a wee bit''.

Nonetheless, Mr. Ramamurthy, piqued at the DMK's rejection of its demand for nine seats in Tamil Nadu and three in Pondicherry, appeared ready to don the role of a bitter campaigner against the DMK, which he had devoutly supported since the last Parliamentary elections in 1999. ``The DMK president and Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi, who claimed that he was committed to stamping out casteism, has now put on a casteist shield'', he charged. Even the Vanniars traditionally voting for the DMK would not back the party in this election, he added.

The TRC leader said the DMK's election plank of providing a ``corruption-free government'' had been rendered meaningless by the inclusion of the Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi led by former PWD Minister, Mr. S. Kannappan, who was charged in the multicrore coal scandal during the AIADMK regime. ``How can the DMK claim to usher in a violence-free Tamil Nadu when its allies, the Puthiya Tamilagam leader, Dr. K. Krishnasamy, an accused in a murder case, and the DPI humiliate the majority communities and incite violence?'', he asked.

``With all these elements in the DMK front, thank God, we are out of it'', he said. However, Mr. Karunanidhi said he did not wish to respond to Mr. Ramamurthy's charges as ``he has been a good friend till four days ago''.

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Section  : Southern States
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