Revolt brewing in TN Congress against K.S. Alagiri

Chennai, Nov 22 (IANS) Close on the heels of a group of party workers led by Nanguneri MLA Rubi R. Manoharan creating scene at the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) headquarters Satyamoorthy Bhavan, revolt seems to be brewing in the Tamil Nadu Congress against party state president, K.S. Alagiri.

Sources in the Congress party told IANS that senior leaders led by former TNCC president EVKS Elangovan and K.V. Thangabalu have upped their ante against the style of functioning of K.S. Alagiri and wanted a replacement.

The disgruntled Congress leaders have also met the AICC president and veteran leader, Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi and apprised him of the need to remove K.S. Alaigiri from the party.

Alagiri has recently in a public meeting said that there will be no truck with the AIADMK if that party was continuing its alliance with the BJP. However, political analysts are of the view that Alagiri was far-sighted and that he wanted to move away from the DMK-led alliance and forge an alliance with the AIADMK as there is rising criticism among the party cadres against the DMK.

This is due to the fact that the DMK has always been sympathetic to the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convicts. While Stalin had personally met Perarivalan, the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict after he was released from prison, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister was more prudent in not meeting Nalini, Shanthan, Murugan, Ravichandran, Robert Payas, or Jayakumar when they were recently released from prison.

While the Congress and the AIADMK have openly announced that there won't be any truck with each other, sources in both parties told IANS that they would join in alliance once the AIADMK part ways with the BJP and the Congress snaps its tie-up with the DMK.

Sources in the Congress told IANS that after the Supreme Court verdict on the release of all the six convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, the cadres of the Congress have been putting pressure on the leadership to cut its ties with the DMK.

VCK founder leader Thol Thiurmavalavan has on Monday visited one of the released convict, Ravichandran and hugged him and presented him with a shawl which has not gone down well with the Congress.

Congress leader Americai Narayanan has openly told mediapersons that those behind the murder of Rajiv Gandhi were anti-nationals and terrorists. This is a clear indication as to which way the wind is blowing in Tamil Nadu Congress and many lower-level functionaries and party workers are demanding the leadership to snap ties with the DMK.