Vaiko charges DMK with deceit

Chennai, Mar 20 (UNI) MDMK General Secretary Vaiko has charged the DMK with getting seven ministerial berths at the Centre in a deceitful manner by including MDMK MPs in its list.

''The DMK has mortgaged our MPs without our knowledge for the ministerial berths in the Union Cabinet,'' he told in an interview to a television channel.

Though the MDMK, which had four MPs,had initially decided not to join the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, but some of his colleagues expressed wish to join the Union Cabinet, the firebrand leader said.

When he broached the subject to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he was told the DMK had got ministerial berths on behalf of the MDMK as well, Mr Vaiko added.

''By claiming the DMK and the MDMK have struck a separate alliance within the Democratic Progressive Alliance, the DMK has bargained for seven Ministerial berths by adding four MDMK MPs along with its list of 16 MPs,'' he said.

When he took up the matter with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, she also offered the same explanation. ''Is it not an act of betrayal by the DMK?'' he asked.

Mr Vaiko, who created ripples in the Tamil Nadu politics recently by quitting the DPA and joining the AIADMK front, said seat allocation was not the only issue but one of the issues that led to his walkout from the DMK-led alliance.

He and his party programmes were blacked out by the pro-DMK pro-DMK television channel which also mocked at him when he undertook a padayatra from Kanniyakumari to Chennai. ''These incidents have hurt my party colleagues deeply,'' he said.

Stating neither he nor his party colleagues had betrayed or backstabbed anybody as charged by the DMK, Mr Vaiko said certain forces in the DMK did not like him continuing in the alliance and hence conspired to drive him out.

Dismissing allegation he had forged an ''opportunistic alliance'' with the AIADMK, the MDMK chief said it was a natural combine as cadre of both the parties had happily joined hands to work for victory in the elections.

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