DMK chief M. Karunanidhi’s statement that his party has decided to support the UPA government at the Centre — if a resolution on FDI is put to vote in Parliament — to keep the BJP out sounds strange. Until two days ago, the party was firm in its stand that the interest of the common man was uppermost in its mind. That it took the Congress hardly any effort and time to make the DMK supremo toe its line is another reflection of coalition compulsions.
It does not matter which party rules at the Centre. Come election time, politicians are at people’s feet but once they get elected they are at people’s throats.
Sukhavanam Chittur,
Coimbatore
The DMK’s decision to support the UPA government is no surprise. It is obviously an outcome of some tough political bargaining. But the party’s attempt to justify it on the ground that it wants to keep the BJP at bay is ridiculous. It assured all support to small traders in Tamil Nadu and was even prepared to vote for a resolution opposing FDI in Parliament till a few days ago. It has suddenly shifted its stand, which is nothing but hypocrisy.
S.R. Krishnamurthy,
Chennai
The DMK is badly in need of the Congress’s support on the 2G issue. The party’s policy all along has been to grab every opportunity available for personal gain.
S. Ramalingam,
Vellore
Even if the government is defeated in the Lok Sabha on the FDI debate, it will not fall because the resolution is not a Finance bill or a no-confidence motion. Assuming the government resigns following the defeat, the NDA cannot come to power because it does not have the numbers. Therefore, it is difficult to believe the claim made by the DMK — which supported the Bharat bandh against FDI — that it wants to keep the BJP out. The decision seems to have been influenced by extraneous considerations.
D.R. Srinivasan,
Bangalore
The cartoon on page one (Nov. 28) was very impressive. Carts of the size and shape portrayed in the cartoon are used by customers when they shop in supermarkets like Walmart. The caricature of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh happily singing while pushing a cartload of leaders who are likely to support him on FDI in Parliament is indeed worth a thousand words.
J. Sethuraman,
Salem
