Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) leader B.S. Gnanadesikan said if the Congress had been an ungrateful ally it would not have supported the candidature of Kanimozhi, daughter of DMK leader M. Karunanidhi, to the Rajya Sabha.
Reacting to Mr. Karunanidhi’s announcement that it would not continue its alliance with the Congress, he said there was no alliance between the two parties, since the DMK left the UPA at the Centre in March.
Talking to reporters at Sathyamurthy Bhavan, the TNCC headquarters, he said, unlike the DMK leadership, which wrote to the Congress seeking support in the Yercaud by-elections, the Congress had not written any letter asking the DMK to be part of the Congress alliance in Lok Sabha polls.
Mr. Gnanadesikan said while it was a prerogative of a political party to take a decision on alliance, he could not remain silent when there was an attempt to discredit his party and subject it to unfair criticism in the 2G spectrum case. “There is no truth in the allegation that the Congress used the CBI in the 2G spectrum case against former Minister A. Raja and Ms. Kanimozhi.”
He said the Supreme Court was monitoring the 2G spectrum case and a report was being submitted every month on the progress of the case.
Asked whether the decision of the Congress to support Ms. Kanmozhi instead of backing the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls was a mistake, as it closed the doors for an alliance with the DMDK, Mr. Gnanadesikan said the decision was made taking into consideration the situation prevailed at that time.
Mr. Gnanadesikan said the bringing to book those who were responsible for the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and rehabilitating the people displaced in the last phase of the civil war were different issues.
“We are firm that the guilty should be punished. At the same time, we should not allow the issue to delay the rehabilitation measures,” he said.
In Erode, former TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan said the DMK’s decision to sever ties was a Christmas and New Year gift to the Congress. “The Congress is happy to shed the extra luggage,” he said.
