CHENNAI/NEW DELHI: BJP president Amit Shah will take part in a meeting organised by the DMK on August 30 in Chennai to commemorate the party’s late leader M Karunanidhi. However, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will not be attending.
The DMK’s ally will be represented by Ghulam Nabi Azad. Confirmation that the BJP chief will attend the event titled “Therkil Uthithelundha Sooriyan” (a sun which rose from the south) has raised speculation about possible alliances ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The opposition leadership will also be in attendance as a show of unity, given DMK is a key player.
“Following our invitation, BJP president Amit Shah, Ghulam Nabi Azad from the Congress, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar, CPI general-secretary Sudhakara Reddy, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, KM Kader Mohideen of Muslim League and a few others will attend,” DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi told Express on Thursday.
“Having said that, however, my view is that the UAE government offered this assistance spontaneously on the basis of television stories and may not have consulted anybody in the government.”
Unfortunately, he says, “Whatever happens in India acquires a political dimension, in this case, because you have a different government in the center and the state. Sadly, you can’t get away from this. I would have personally preferred that these things were discussed quietly between officials concerned in Delhi and Kerala. If the politician has to posture in the public domain, let them. This is the sophisticated way to handle it. The people of Kerala are suffering a lot, they don’t need this kind of crap in their lives.”