We are on the right path: Moopanar

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 31. Stoutly justifying the electoral alliance with the AIADMK, the TMC president, Mr. G. K. Moopanar, today asserted that he was confident that the party had ``chosen the right path''.

Addressing a meeting of party booth agents here, he exhorted his partymen to prepare themselves for the elections with the ``confidence and courage'' that they had chalked out the right course.

In an implicit rebuttal to the rebel leader, Mr. P. Chidambaram's offensive against the TMC-AIADMK alliance, Mr. Moopanar said the party's ``electoral strategy'' would contribute to the welfare of Tamil Nadu.

``In 1996, we did not choose the wrong path'', he said, referring to the TMC's decision to oppose the AIADMK in the last Assembly election. ``I did not betray you in 1996. We unitedly took a decision. So also, we have now taken a decision in the interest of the welfare of Tamil Nadu,'' he observed.

Earlier, the party seniors harshly criticised the former Union Minister for ``betraying the party'' to float the TMC Democratic Forum.

While the MP, Mrs. Jayanthi Natarajan, said Mr. Chidambaram had no locus standi to speak of democratic norms as he had kept away from the party's election committee meetings and disrespected the majority view of the cadres.

The alliance with the AIADMK was a ``compulsion of times'' to strengthen the secular alliance in the State, she added.

The party general secretary and MP, Mr. Peter Alphonse, said history would not forgive the DMK leadership for having forged a ``casteist, communal and corrupt'' alliance.

While the vice-president, Mr. S. G. Vinayagamurthy, claimed that the party had become ``pure'' after the exit of Mr. Chidambaram and his supporters, the former Union Minister, Mr. S. R. Balasubramaniam, asserted that the Assembly election would decide not only the fate of Tamil Nadu but also of the entire nation.

The TMC treasurer, Mr. D. Sudarshanam, charged that Mr. Chidambaram was trying to create confusion among the cadres by spreading rumours that the party would merge with the Congress after the election. ``The TMC will continue under the leadership of Mr. Moopanar and will not merge with the Congress,'' he said.

The former Union Minister, Mr. Dhanushkodi Adityan, the party general secretary, Mr. Tamizharuvi Manian, and the MLA, Dr. A. Chellakumar, also came down heavily on Mr. Chidambaram for his open revolt against the alliance.

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Section  : Southern States
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