TVK's Aadhav Arjuna claims DMK-AIADMK reach agreement, DMK denies charge

CHENNAI: TVK general secretary Aadhav Arjuna on Thursday (July 2) claimed that the opposition DMK and AIADMK have reached an electoral agreement and that a formal announcement was expected soon, a charge, however, denied by a DMK senior.

Arjuna, who is Minister for Public Works and Sports Development in the Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led newly formed government, claimed that an electoral agreement has already been reached between DMK and AIADMK leadership and a formal announcement was expected before the upcoming local body or Lok Sabha elections.

Denying the charge, DMK leader S Reghupathy stressed that his party has no desire to form an alliance with the AIADMK to seize power, reiterating that party president M K Stalin held no such intent.

He maintained that the DMK will come to power through people's mandate and will not rely on illegitimate means to occupy the government.

Responding to allegations of "horse-trading" involving the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam legislators, Reghupathy told reporters that the DMK had clarified that they have no interest in engaging in horse-trading or toppling the current government. The party leader had already stated that the DMK will function as a responsible opposition party, he recalled.

"The DMK values democracy over financial muscle. We have no intent to topple the government," he emphasised.

Speaking at an event in Mamallapuram near here welcoming scores of AIADMK members including three former state ministers shifting their loyalty to the ruling TVK, Minister Arjuna flayed AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, accusing him of “betraying” the party's principles, specifically by aligning with its political rally, the DMK.

He said the AIADMK functionaries including district secretaries, and MLAs were dissatisfied with their leadership over a plan to align with the DMK and hence have joined the TVK.

"The MLAs were resigning their positions due to their opposition to this alliance. The AIADMK will eventually collapse losing its organisational strength,” he said.

A day ago, the TVK had lashed out at the DMK alleging that it was trying to destabilise the government by “buying” TVK legislators and claimed that over the past 40 days many TVK MLAs have been approached by the DMK.

The police on Wednesday arrested three persons following a complaint by TVK lawmaker N Elaiyaraja that he was offered Rs 35 crore by a consultancy firm to support a motion against the Assembly Speaker.

At the meeting, Arjuna said the TVK successfully challenged the long-standing "money, religion, and caste-based" politics that dominated the state for the past 75 years.

Also, he claimed that his party did not seek support from Palaniswami during the government formation when it fell short of a majority in the Assembly.

“The decision not to seek support from the AIADMK was a deliberate political strategy, and demonstrated their commitment to secular and social justice principles, as the party leadership believed that DMK and AIADMK were working together to form an alternative power arrangement, which the party intended to counter,” he said.