‘Will erode goodwill’: Congress warns Vijay against inducting rebel AIADMK MLAs into Tamil Nadu govt

NEW DELHI: Congress on Friday advised Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay not to include the rebel AIADMK group in his government, saying he must stay true to the mandate. Speaking to news agency PTI, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said people voted for a government that excludes both the AIADMK and the DMK. He added that if Vijay inducts AIADMK MLAs into his government, it would erode his goodwill and credibility. “Chief minister Vijay does not need the support of any splinter group of AIADMK. In fact, the mandate is for a government that excludes both the AIADMK and the DMK. And he must stay true to that mandate and ignore the splinter group of AIADMK,” the Congress leader said. “And there is no reason for him to take them into the government. If they have voluntarily supported him in the vote of confidence, so be it. But there is no reason to bring them into government. In fact, I would urge him not to bring them into government,” he added. This comes after 25 AIADMK MLAs voted in favour of Vijay’s government during the floor test following an internal rift in the party. The political turmoil within the AIADMK intensified after Shanmugam publicly criticised EPS, accusing him of weakening the organisation and leading the party towards repeated electoral defeats since the death of former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2016. “The defeat faced by the AIADMK in the recently concluded Assembly elections must be discussed. We need to deliberate and analyse the reasons behind these continuous defeats,” Shanmugam had said. He also alleged that the party’s founding ideology had been diluted under the present leadership and claimed that several senior leaders and functionaries had been removed from organisational positions. The EPS-led faction initiated disciplinary action against leaders accused of violating the party whip during the recent floor test in the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Several leaders, including C V Shanmugam and C Vijayabaskar, were removed from organisational posts. At present, Palaniswami has the support of 22 MLAs, while the rebel faction led by Velumani and Shanmugam is backed by 25 AIADMK legislators. Both factions have sought disqualification of each other’s MLAs under the anti-defection law over voting during the TVK government’s floor test.