Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E.V.K.S. Elangovan on Friday alleged that the ruling AIADMK was able to go first past the post in the just-concluded Assembly elections only because of distribution of money to the electorate.
Rejecting the perception that the DMK failed to form the government because of the poor performance of the Congress, Mr. Elangovan said, “We expected to win many more seats but money has played an important part in the elections. Despite this, Congress party stands behind AIADMK and DMK. Considering the circumstances, we are happy with the performance of the party.”
According to him, the Congress and the DMK, which has managed to form a formidable opposition in the Assembly, will act responsibly as the Opposition party in Tamil Nadu.
He also appeared to make snide remarks against those who broke away from the Congress party to join other alliances and those who projected themselves as the alternative to DMK and AIADMK fronts. “As far as this election is concerned, leaders, who were running parties by just giving statements in the media, have been decimated. I welcome this,” he said.
He also welcomed DMK leader M.K. Stalin being elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. Mr. Elangovan was also critical of the Election Commission. “There were doubts over whether the Election Commission was even functional. They have worked against democracy. Their role was similar to the way they worked in Parliamentary elections,” he said, adding, “I hope some action is taken against the EC. If not, may be it requires protests by the people.”
He welcomed Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s gesture of reaching out to Mr. Stalin. “Ms. Jayalalithaa wishing Mr. Stalin is surprising. I don’t know if she has changed. If she has reformed, it is my duty to appreciate it,” he said.
Elaborating on some of the first steps taken by the Chief Minister like deferring the opening of liquor outlets by two hours, he said, “What she has done is unacceptable. It would have been better if the closing time of liquor shops is 7 p.m. instead of 10 p.m.”
