KARUR: A furore erupted at the Karur DMK office on Monday, when MP Jothimani of the Congress was allegedly asked to leave the hall, following a dispute in ward allocation for the upcoming urban local body polls.
A meeting to decide on ward allocation with alliance parties was held at the DMK’s district office, which was presided over by Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister V Senthil Balaji. DMK State Advocate Wing deputy secretary Maniraj was also present. Jothimani, AICC district president R Chinnasamy and other Congress functionaries also took part in the meeting. Functionaries of the alliance party reportedly started the talks with Senthil Balaji on allocation of wards.
According to sources, Senthil Balaji finalised the seat-sharing for all the 48 wards in the Karur City Municipal Corporation, without consulting Jothimani or AICC functionaries. Jothimani was enraged as her opinion was allegedly not given much importance, and she started arguing with DMK functionaries.
Following a verbal duel, DMK functionaries allegedly told Jothimani and her party members to leave the hall. This led to a furore, even as Jothimani walked out after a heated exchange of words with DMK cadre. Sources said Senthil Balaji neither tried to stop Jothimani nor pacify the Congress functionaries.
‘Won’t talk on walkout’
“I would rather not speak about the issue which happened with Karur MP Jothimani as it will only make matters worse,” Electricity, Prohibition and Excise Minister Senthil Balaji said on Monday. “Negotiations between the DMK and all alliance parties in Karur district are going on smoothly and allocation of wards has been finalised. Our party chief will take a final call,” he added.