Only issue-based support, says party chief Karunanidhi; Congress can count on fence-sitters.
The move comes about two months after the probe in the so-called 2G scam evicted A Raja from the communications ministry and put some of the party’s top leaders under the lens.
Besides, Tamil Nadu, a state DMK rules with the Congress, will go to polls in about five weeks.
With 18 MPs, DMK was the second-largest ally of the Congress in the second UPA government after Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.
The Congress reaction was guarded. “It is too early to comment on this development. We are yet to discuss the issue in our party,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Business Standard.
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| LS MATRIX | |
| No of Lok Sabha members | 543 |
| UPA’s strength, post-DMK | 242 |
| Congress | 207 |
| Trinamool Congress | 19 |
| NCP | 9 |
| National Conference | 3 |
| IUML | 2 |
| JVM | 1 |
| VCK | 1 |
This won’t topple the government at the Centre, which, into its second year, can count on fence-sitters like Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party, which has 21 MPs, but it will dent its stability. Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party, too, according to a Congress leader, could be relied on. Recently, AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha, DMK’s arch rival in Tamil Nadu, offered support in case the Congress dumped its Dravidian partner.
DMK has six ministers, including two of Cabinet rank, in the Union government.
Officially, it has cited the Congress’ reluctance to firm up the seat-sharing agreement in the state as the reason for its withdrawal. But the Congress camp believes it’s the heat of the 2G probe that has melted DMK’s support. Weeks after Raja left his ministry, which went to Kapil Sibal of the Congress, the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested him and unleashed a series of raids on the premises of DMK members and their relatives. The latest buzz is that CBI is bracing up to interrogate Kanimozhi, Karunanidhi’s daughter and a Lok Sabha member.
While the noose of the investigating agency tightens around DMK’s throat, the Congress shows little interest in sealing the alliance for the upcoming polls.
DMK on Saturday passed a resolution saying that the Congress’ demand showed it was not interested in concluding the seat-sharing talks.
DMK President Karunanidhi, who last night accused the Congress of being unreasonable in its demand, on Saturday charged the ally of trying to push it out of UPA. The meeting of the party's high-powered committee, presided over by him, adopted a resolution to pull out of the government and give issue-based support.
Apparently referring to the Congress' demand for 63 seats of its choice after agreeing to 60, he said the Congress’ stand did not help achieve an amicable poll accord.
“Under these circumstances, we have to think whether to continue in the government. So we have decided to relieve ourselves from the government,” Karunanidhi said at the meeting.
(With inputs from Press Trust of India)