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Former Chief Minister and president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), MK Stalin, on Wednesday, May 13, accused Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) of indulging in “dirty politics” ahead of the floor test. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Vijay passed the floor test with 144 votes in favour. Twenty-two MLAs voted against him, while five abstained.
Besides the 105 TVK legislators, the government was supported by five Congress MLAs; two MLAs each from the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML); and 27 MLAs from the splinter faction of the AIADMK.
The former Chief Minister said that although the party had the requisite numbers to survive the floor test, TVK had betrayed the trust of the people by seeking the support of the AIADMK faction led by C Ve Shanmugam.
“Through their actions, TVK has betrayed the trust of everyone who helped form the government,” he said, referring to allies such as the CPI, CPI(M), IUML, and VCK.
“Those who came to power promising ‘clean politics’ are now indulging in ‘dirty politics’. They are attempting to fish in the troubled waters of the fractured AIADMK and have tried to poach their MLAs. The very people who voted for Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam are now lamenting: ‘If your beginning itself is like this, how will your ending be? Is this a pure force (thooya sakthi), or a force that lifts MLAs from other parties?’”
Addressing Chief Minister Vijay, Stalin said that the people were closely watching his actions. “They are also going to watch what ‘return gift’ you are going to give to the fractured AIADMK members. As far as we are concerned, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam will continue to remain firm in its principles and function as a constructive opposition,” he said.
In the Assembly, the DMK staged a walkout, allowing the TVK to form the government. Along with the DMK legislators, M H Jawahirullah of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, Thamimun Ansari of the Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi (MJK), and DMDK’s Premalatha Vijayakant also walked out.
Speaking in the House, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin strongly criticised the TVK for allegedly engaging in “horse trading” and deceiving the trust of the people by aligning with a split faction of the AIADMK, which had contested under the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Ahead of the floor test, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazagam (AMMK)’s lone MLA, S Kamaraj, extended support to the TVK government, leading to allegations of horse trading by the party’s chief, T T V Dhinakaran. As the MLA continued to support the ruling party, Dhinakaran removed him from the party. Vijay also faced criticism for meeting the breakaway AIADMK faction a day earlier, which critics said undermined his stand against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“You claimed that the BJP is your ideological opponent. But you have brought in a legislator who contested under the BJP-led NDA alliance, without even the knowledge of his party president. Party president T T V Dhinakaran had said that even before forming the government, the TVK was engaging in horse trading,” Udhayanidhi said.
Udhayanidhi claimed that it was unprecedented for a leader to openly embrace the support of a split faction from another party ahead of a floor test. He questioned how this aligned with the “clean governance” promised by the TVK before the elections.
This article was written by a student interning with TNM
