Tamil Nadu Congress leaders at the meeting with party High Command.
Credit: X@kcvenugopalmp
New Delhi/Chennai: Congress central leadership on Saturday told Tamil Nadu leaders not to create any confusion among voters about its alliance with the DMK even as demands for raising issues related to accommodating its functionaries in government structures, including in the Cabinet, and more seats to fight Assembly elections was made.
The meeting, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, to discuss strategy for the upcoming Assembly elections comes amid a section in the party aggressively asking the central leadership to insist that the DMK to give them more seats to contest as well as share power.
After the meeting, Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal told reporters that the leadership listened to the leaders patiently while giving them full opportunity to express their views.
Discussions were constructive and focussed on strengthening the party and future strategy, he said.
He said Kharge and Gandhi will take a final call on the issues raised by the leaders keeping the party ideology and people’s interest at the forefront.
At the same time, he said a “clear directive” has been issued to leaders to maintain discipline and refrain from making statements, including on social media, and avoid speculation.
Leaders from Tamil Nadu, including MPs and MLAs, told the High Command that the DMK alliance should not be disturbed but asked the leadership to take up their demand for Congress’ better representation in the Assembly.
Some highlighted that the DMK was not accommodating Congress adequately in local bodies and Welfare Boards as also not giving more seats in Rajya Sabha.
Sources said the leaders made it clear that walking out of the DMK-led alliance would send a wrong signal and that the speculation about the alliance itself was not a good sign.
At the meeting that lasted for 4:30 hours, sources said, Kharge, Gandhi, Venugopal and Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar also met 39 leaders separately to elicit their views while asking them not to air their views in public or speak to the media till the Congress president takes a final call on the issues raised.
“The discussions were free and fair. Everyone expressed their opinion freely and without any hesitation,” a senior leader told DH.
Sources said the leaders were of the view that Congress should ask for at least 40 seats so that the party can win the maximum out of it so that it can get elected a Rajya Sabha MP every two years on its own without having to depend on the DMK.
At one point, sources said Kharge told the leaders that some of them made “contradictory statements” which could have been avoided. He also said unnecessary comments should be avoided while reminding the leaders that there is a High Command and “certain things” should be left to it.
Kharge said on ‘X’ that the Congress is confident that the people of Tamil Nadu would “choose equality, social justice, empowerment and good governance over bigotry, sectarianism, anti-federal and discriminatory politics of the RSS-BJP” and his party is determined to play an important role in fulfilling the aspirations of Tamils.
“They told leaders not to tweet their opinions and issues statements on the issue of alliance. The TNCC will accept the decision to be taken by the AICC leadership,” TNCC chief K Selvaperunthagai said.