The DMK has called its arch-rival AIADMK "spineless" for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government and alleged that the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the NDA as a "quid pro quo" despite several issues.
DMK working president M K Stalin said that the ruling party's opposition to the motion in the Lok Sabha on Friday showed there was a "tacit alliance" between the AIADMK and the BJP.
Stalin, whose party has no representation in the Lower House of Parliament, had urged the AIADMK, which has 37 MPs, to support the no-trust motion.
"Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between ADMK and BJP," Stalin said in a tweet late last night.
In a statement on Saturday, he called the AIADMK "spineless" for supporting the NDA, despite issues concerning Tamil Nadu.
The Modi-led government had "totally ignored" the state on issues including NEET, devolution of taxes in the GST era and by proposing to replace the UGC and trying to enact a legislation on dam safety, he said.
"The BJP government is going against democracy, social justice and regional autonomy and the chief minister (K Palaniswami) and the AIADMK MPs were spineless" in not opposing these, he said.
Though the ruling AIADMK was often claiming that it had only "government to government relations" with the BJP at the Centre, its support to the saffron party yesterday proved that "there is a tacit alliance" between the two, he said.
The AIADMK's support to the BJP came just days after the latter's chief, Amit Shah, had mentioned about corruption in Tamil Nadu, Stalin added.
During his recent visit to Tamil Nadu, Shah had said he was "pained" to see the state being "counted among the most corrupt" and asserted, "We will finish corruption here too."
Yesterday's no-confidence motion, moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former BJP ally, against the Modi government was decisively defeated last night.
The government secured 325 votes against 126 of the opposition.
Palaniswami had indicated on Thursday that his party might not support the motion as it was moved by the TDP for an issue concerning Andhra Pradesh.
"No party had backed Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue when AIADMK lawmakers had stalled the Lok Sabha for nearly three weeks seeking constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee," Palaniswami had said.
The no-trust motion was the first after Modi assumed office in May 2014 and less than a year before the next general elections.
PTI
