The BJP-led Central government’s decision not to give any representation to Tamil Nadu in the Union Cabinet was made with an ulterior motive as the State had voted against the NDA, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri said.
In a statement, Mr. Alagiri said though the AIADMK won only one seat in the Lok Sabha, they had 13 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
"Their support is very important to the government. Yet, we don't know why they did not get a representation in the government," he said, adding this raised doubts whether the Centre was planning to ignore Tamil Nadu.
State leaders
He questioned why none of the BJP leaders from the State, like former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan, State president Tamilisai Soundararajan or former State president L. Ganesan, were made Rajya Sabha MPs and accommodated in the Cabinet. "In order to have representation for Kerala, they [BJP] made V. Muralidharan a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu also should have been given such an opportunity," he said.
The TNCC president said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar cannot be considered representatives of the State as they don't have a “general connect” with the citizens of Tamil Nadu.
In this backdrop, Mr. Alagiri said, the responsibility of the 37 Tamil Nadu MPs from the Secular Progressive Alliance was very crucial in Parliament.
"They should work with utmost diligence and ensure that Tamil Nadu's rights are protected. There are chances that the BJP government would try to deny our rights on issues such as NEET, the sharing of Cauvery water, the Mekedatu dam, Palar and the like. The MPs have a duty to prevent our rights being denied," he said.
