The DMK party is pulling out of the UPA government at the center led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Congress is the dominant party in the United Progressive Alliance, which besides the DMK also includes the All India Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference and a bunch of smaller players.
The DMK has 18 seats in Lok Sabha and six ministerships in the Central Cabinet.
DMK Chief Karunanidhi’s son M.K.Azhagiri and grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran are both in the Cabinet.
Despite quitting the UPA, the DMK promised issue-based support for the UPA Government.
Issue-based support in politics usually means holding the Damocles sword on your rival’s head.
Why the Break?
There has been talk that DMK’s break with Congress centered around seat-sharing for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.
It seems the DMK offered 60 seats to its Congress partner, which sought 63 seats.
The three-seats difference doesn’t look like a big deal to us.
We think the real reason is the multi-billion dollar telecom corruption scandal that has rocked India in recent months.
Former Telecom Minister A.Raja, under whose watch the mega-scandal erupted, is a DMK member of Parliament.
Raja has recently been arrested and is currently cooling his heels in Tihar jail.
India’s investigative agency CBI is probing the scandal and recent disclosures about huge transfers of money after the telecom spectrum allotment have cast the DMK in a poor light.
The DMK’s decision to quit the UPA government is most likely a pressure tactic to slow down the investigation into the 2G telecom scandal.
DMK chief Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi is likely to be questioned by the CBI in the near future as she is a stakeholder in the Kalaignar TV channel which received money from some of the beneficiaries of the telecom spectrum award.
Unfortunately, India’s police and investigative agencies do not enjoy the autonomy that the police or FBI in the U.S. possess. And it’s possible that the investigations may be scuttled by the politicians who fear the outcome of the probe.
DMK Shows Middle Finger to Cong, Pulls Out of UPA; Fallout of Raja Telecom Scandal? Yes, Yes added by SearchIndia.com on
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ANOTHER IMPT. DEVELOPMENT.
JJ HAS JOINED HANDS WITH VIJAYKANTH! DMK’S DAYS ARE NUMBERED!!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
DMK’s days numbered?
Great! 🙂
What happens to Udayanidhi Stalin – Potential Hero soon a Zero?
I can’t believe his last name does all the talking and his first name has got nothing to show or give. Guess, this is how the world functioned all her life.
but dmk pretends the alliance had to be disbanded because congress was very particular in contesting in constituencies of their choice the very thought of jayalalita becoming cm again with these developments scares the shit out of us
SearchIndia.com Responds:
There’s not much to chose between the two.
Tamils, to use the proverbial saying, are caught between the devil and the deep sea.
Between the Scylla of Karunanidhi and Charybdis of Jayalalitha.
“but dmk pretends the alliance had to be disbanded because congress was very particular in contesting in constituencies of their choice the very thought of jayalalita becoming cm again with these developments scares the shit out of us” – Couldn’t have said it better.
I wish the Congress severes all ties with DMK soon. But I doubt it will happen. As per Thuglak Editor, Cho.Ramaswamy, a major pie of the thousands of crores looted in the 2G scam went to Congress (60% of the total loot). So, I doubt they will prosecute Raja that easily. As for the alliance, the DMK needs COngresss much more than the Congress needs the DMK.
As I type, I keep hearing that Mulayam Singh Yadav has agreed to fill in DMK’s place in the UPA. Let’s see what happens.
One thing for sure, if DMK decides to go ahead and break away from the Congress alliance, I am not sure who will be the BIGGER loser. What do you say?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: One thing for sure, if DMK decides to go ahead and break away from the Congress alliance, I am not sure who will be the BIGGER loser. What do you say?
History shows mass protests/violent protests are the best way to bring real change.
Until Tamils develop balls like the Egyptians, Tunisians and Libyans, they will continue to suffer under the tyranny of Karunanidhi and JJ.
The alternative is to wait for Meenava ‘Vijay‘ Nanban. 😉
“The alternative is to wait for Meenava ‘Vijay‘ Nanban.”
Oh my god, may this place be nuked if that idiot ever comes anywhere to winning a seat, let alone become Chief Minister. A [deleted], who cannot do anything good in his own industry, can never do anything good in politics.
Let’s see what Mr.Captain (As they call Vijaykanth here) does. Not sure whether he will be a rising force or a spent one. Only time will tell.
As for Congress and DMK splitting, let’s wait and see whether it actually happens.
My gut feeling says that the stalemate will end in Congress’s favor.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Congress, DMK seal deal on seat-sharing in Tamil Nadu
DMK agree to Cong demand for 63 seats
If Tamils have balls, if Tamils have a spine, if Tamils have brains, they will vote out the DMK-Cong combine.