Sparks fly as ruling, opposition trade barbs over alliances

CHENNAI: The Assembly on Monday (August 24) witnessed heated exchanges between the ruling TVK and Opposition DMK over coalition leverage and political identity, with both attributing the Congress to the survival and strength of the other.

PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna's remarks that if the DMK did not have a 23-party alliance, it would not have won even 10 seats, had a strong hit back from the Deputy Leader of the Opposition KN Nehru, asking the ruling party to form government on its own, instead of surviving on the support of erstwhile allies of the DMK.

A debate in the Assembly on Monday over social justice and representation of marginalised communities swiftly turned into a political slugfest over the role of allies in the DMK's electoral victories, with TVK Minister Aadhav Arjuna asserting that the ruling party had won the 2026 election on its own while DMK leaders credited their alliance partners for helping them secure power in the past.

Participating in the debate on the demands for grants for the Higher Education and School Education departments, DMK MLA Govi Chezhiaan highlighted what he described as the party's long record of advancing social justice and political representation.

Citing the 1967 Assembly election, Chezhiaan said the DMK had defeated the heir of the Ramanathapuram royal family, Raja Shanmuga Rajeswara Sethupathi, by fielding Thangappan, who came from an ordinary background. He also claimed that the DMK had the distinction of fielding a Scheduled Caste worker in a general constituency in Coimbatore.

Higher Education Minister P Viswanathan countered by recalling Congress's role in providing political representation to marginalised communities. He cited P Kakkan, who rose from a humble background to become Home Minister, and said the TVK government had appointed members of the Scheduled Caste community as Ministers in both the Higher Education and School Education departments.

Viswanathan also flagged vacancies in the vice-chancellor posts of 12 universities. Joining the debate, minister Aadhav Arjuna said the DMK could not claim sole credit for its electoral victories, pointing to the contributions of the Congress, VCK, IUML, and Left parties. "Had the DMK contested alone, it would not have won even 10 seats," he said, asserting that the TVK had contested the 2026 election independently and emerged victorious.

DMK MLA K N Nehru hit back, saying the TVK too had benefited from support extended by other parties. "You have formed the government with the support of those who won with our alliance," he said.

Congress floor leader Tharahai Cuthbert said the Congress had campaigned for the alliance and later supported the TVK government, while the DMK members recalled that the DMK had rebuilt itself after being reduced to a single seat following the Rajiv Gandhi assassination.

Speaker's intervention brought the exchange back to the central point: "Victory and defeat ultimately come from the people."