PUDUKOTTAI: Minister S Regupathy on Sunday said that the DMK-Congress alliance would remain intact and that an official announcement would be made by Rahul Gandhi, dismissing speculation of cracks within the coalition ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
Addressing reporters, Regupathy said there was no confusion within the alliance and that no force could weaken it.
"Rahul Gandhi himself will announce the alliance details. The DMK has never believed in sending away allies. Our Chief Minister M K Stalin follows a politics of embracing partners," he said, expressing confidence that the Congress would continue in the DMK-led front. He added that power-sharing issues were already clarified well from DMK side.
Turning to AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS), Regupathy accused him of duplicating DMK welfare schemes and misleading the public with unfulfilled promises. He recalled that ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, EPS had promised Rs 2,000 per month to nearly 60 lakh people living below the poverty line, but failed to implement the scheme after coming to power.
The minister said EPS, who earlier claimed that cash assistance to women was impossible, was now promising Rs 2,000 only because of the widespread acceptance of the DMK government’s Rs 1,000 women’s entitlement scheme.
Regupathy asserted that the DMK would secure a clear majority on its own and dismissed predictions by T T V Dhinakaran about a coalition government as politically irrelevant.