AIADMK propaganda secretary and Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambi Durai on Friday asked DMK working president and Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin if he would persuade the Congress and get its support on the Cauvery issue.
Responding to Mr. Stalin’s demand that the AIADMK support the proposed no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, Mr. Thambi Durai told The Hindu over the phone from New Delhi that a minimum of 54 Lok Sabha MPs should propose a no-trust motion. “We, the AIADMK, have only 37 MPs. So, we require the support of other parties even to move the resolution. Would Mr. Stalin speak to Congress leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who are his allies, and persuade them to support us? If he does this, we can consider moving any such motion,” he said.
‘No understanding’
In a separate statement, Mr. Thambi Durai alleged that the DMK leader “did not even have a basic understanding of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh’s politics.” He said just like how Karnataka was denying Tamil Nadu its rightful share of Cauvery water, the Andhra Pradesh government too was acting against Tamil Nadu by building check dams across the Palar river. “How does Mr. Stalin expect the AIADMK to support the moves of such States?,” he asked.
He asked how Mr. Stalin could expect the AIADMK to support Mr. Chandrababu Naidu’s move when labourers from Tamil Nadu were being killed in encounters in his State without interrogation.
“Does Mr. Stalin know that after Mr. Naidu took over as Chief Minister, 10,664 Tamils have been arrested by the Andhra Pradesh government?,” Mr. Thambi Durai asked.
