Ungrateful: Congress hits back at Udhayanidhi as row with DMK widens
Congress MP Manickam Tagore hit back at Udhayanidhi Stalin as the post-election rift with the DMK sharpened in Tamil Nadu. The exchange deepened the alliance rupture after Congress backed Vijay's TVK and Tagore alleged DMK-AIADMK contacts.
The bitter fallout between the Congress and the DMK intensified on Sunday, with Congress MP Manickam Tagore launching a sharp counterattack against DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin over his remarks accusing the national party of “betrayal” after the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results.
Tagore termed Udhayanidhi’s comments “irresponsible” and accused him of forgetting the Congress party’s role in supporting his political rise. “It is very disheartening to see the Leader of Opposition, who should act responsibly, speaking irresponsibly,” Tagore said.
“He forgot that Congress carried him on its shoulders as he became Minister and then Deputy Chief Minister. This is called being ungrateful,” he added.
CONGRESS CLAIMS DMK HELD TALKS WITH AIADMK
Escalating the political attack, Tagore alleged that backchannel talks had taken place between the DMK and the AIADMK after the election results, allegedly with the BJP attempting to facilitate an arrangement aimed at preventing actor-turned-politician Vijay from becoming chief minister.
“As the results were being announced and losing, talks were on between AIADMK and DMK with BJP’s control to form government,” Tagore claimed. “The only reason was to make sure TVK leader should not become CM,” he alleged.
The Congress leader further claimed his party stayed away from the DMK after learning about the alleged discussions. “We didn’t reveal this and that is why we didn’t go there. If you ask why we didn’t go on the 5th, it is because they initiated talks on the 4th,” he said.
Tagore also accused the BJP of attempting to engineer a political realignment in Tamil Nadu. “Congress always stood with the secular alliance. BJP was making the connecting call between the DMK and AIADMK, which is against our principle. Any understanding with the BJP will not be tolerated by the Congress,” he said.
UDHAYANIDHI'S STABBING REMARK
The Congress response came a day after Udhayanidhi launched a blistering attack on the party, accusing it of “stabbing the DMK in the back” after benefiting electorally from the alliance.
“For over 20 years, the Congress party rode on our backs. Today, they have stabbed us in the back. No one should ever forget this. We must never trust the Congress at any point in the future, nor should we ever let them come near us again,” Udhayanidhi said at a DMK Youth Wing meeting in Chennai.
The remarks marked a dramatic rupture in one of Tamil Nadu’s longest-running political alliances.
The Congress, which won five seats as part of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance in the April 23 Assembly elections, later switched sides and extended support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), which emerged as the single-largest party but fell short of a majority.
HOW VIJAY’S TVK CHANGED TAMIL NADU POLITICS
The TVK’s emergence disrupted the traditional dominance of the DMK and the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu politics.
Vijay’s party won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly, falling just 10 short of the majority mark. Congress later offered support with its five MLAs, while Left parties, the Indian Union Muslim League and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi together added further support, eventually helping the TVK cross the majority threshold.
After days of political negotiations and high drama, Vijay was sworn in as chief minister following a successful floor test.
The election outcome sharply reduced the DMK-led alliance’s tally and triggered intense recriminations within the opposition camp.
DMK QUESTIONS CONGRESS’ GRATITUDE
In his speech, Udhayanidhi claimed the Congress won seats only because of DMK cadre support and the popularity of party chief MK Stalin.
“DMK cadre was the reason for Congress winning five seats. People voted for them because they wanted MK Stalin as the chief minister,” he said.
“But today, for some positions, they ran away without informing us. We should never allow them near us again,” he added.
The DMK leader also blamed the Congress, rather than Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah, for the BJP’s repeated national electoral successes.
“Even in this election, a virtually non-existent Congress managed to win five seats solely because of our leader’s instructions and the tireless work of DMK cadres,” he alleged.