“Alliance will be decided during polls”

Congress will always fight for the rights of Tamil Nadu, says TNCC chief

TNCC president E.V.K.S. Elangovan inspecting the ground at Ponmalai in Tiruchi on Wednesday.— PHOTO: A. MURALITHARAN

Asserting that his party was ready to face the Assembly election any time, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president E.V.K.S. Elangovan on Wednesday said the issue of alliance would be decided only at the time of poll.

The Congress had been maintaining a cordial relationship with all those parties which took up people’s related issues with it, Mr. Elangovan told presspersons in the city.

To a question, Mr. Elangovan said he and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam treasurer M.K. Stalin had shared the dais at a meeting organised by the Adi Tamizhar Peravai to protect the interest of the oppressed community. Nothing was spoken about electoral alliance, he said and added that the Congress and the DMK had been fighting for the welfare of the oppressed communities.

Mr. Elangovan made it clear that matters pertaining to electoral alliance would be decided only at the time of elections.

The Congress would always fight for the rights of Tamil Nadu, he said urging the Central government to deploy central forces to protect the Mullaperiyar dam.

Criticising Chief Minister Jayalalithaa for claiming that there were no power cuts in the State, Mr. Elangovan said that rural areas faced more power cuts.

Asked about the two Dravidian parties taking credit for the metro rail project in Chennai, he said it was the Central government headed by the Congress which had granted funds for the project during the UPA regime.

Rahul visit

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will visit Tiruchi on July 23 (and not July 25 as announced earlier) to address a public meeting to be organised by the party. The public meeting would be a “Mupperum Vizha” organised in connection with 125{+t}{+h}birth anniversaries of Jawaharlal Nehru and B.R. Ambedkar and the birth anniversary celebrations of Kamaraj, the TNCC president said.

Representatives of farmers’ associations have expressed their interest in meeting Rahul Gandhi on that day and the same would be conveyed to the Congress vice-president.

Mr. Elangovan was speaking to presspersons after inspecting the Ponmalai railway ground – the venue of the meeting.