The sibling war in the DMK, which was being fought discreetly, has come out in the open with Union minister and party’s south zone organising secretary M.K. Alagiri throwing his weight behind his supporters who have been issued showcause notices by the high command seeking explanation for boycotting the meetings conducted by his brother and party treasurer M.K. Stalin in Madurai recently.
Reacting sharply to the controversy surrounding Mr Stalin’s visit to Madurai in his absence, Mr Alagiri said the party’s by-law does not insist on welcoming visiting DMK men.
Accompanied by wife Kanthi, the Union minister flew to Madurai Friday after a trip abroad. He took a couple of questions from the waiting mediapersons after emerging out of the airport.
To a query on his aides, all key functionaries, keeping away from the youth wing interview session and the public meeting led by Mr Stalin in the town, he said, “There is no rule in the party that anyone visiting Madurai should be received.”
Asked whether he was aware about the meetings, he said he had no prior information. Mr Alagiri also feigned ignorance about the secret meeting of his aides who were sent notices at a hotel to discuss the matter. “I do not know. I am coming from China only now and I need to inquire about it.”
Meanwhile, party sources said all the 17 functionaries have sent in their explanations to the leadership. They had uniformly expressed anguish about holding the events in Alagiri’s absence and his name not figuring in the pamphlets issued for the public meeting condemning hike in power tariff. “We have told that since annan (Alagiri) was not given due importance, we were heart-broken and hence did not participate,” an office-bearer told Deccan Chronicle.
A DMK leader said all these Alagiri aides had signed the resolution adopted at the workers’ committee meeting to welcome Stalin and ensure the success of the meetings. “Receiving a leader may not be in the protocol but it is a convention in practice in the party,” he explained.