NEW DELHI: DMK MP Kanimozhi has written a letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to change the seating arrangements in the Parliament so that they do not have to sit near the Congress MPs, considering the recent rift after Tamil Nadu poll results.
"I write to respectfully request suitable changes in the seating arrangement of the MP belonging to the DMK in the Lok Sabha. In view of the changed political circumstances and as our alliance with the Indian National Congress has come to an end, it may not be appropriate for our Members to continue occupying the present seating arrangement alongside them in the House," she said in a letter dated May 7, released on Friday.
"I therefore request your good office to kindly make the necessary arrangements for the Hon'ble Members of the DMK Parliamentary Party to be allotted separate seating, enabling them to effectively discharge their responsibilities in the August House. I shall be grateful for your kind consideration in this regard," she further said in the letter.
This comes after Congress chose to cut 20-year old ties with DMK to give support to Vijay's party TVK to form government. The fallout intensified after the DMK, at a meeting chaired by party chief MK Stalin on Thursday, passed a strongly worded resolution accusing the Congress of betraying the Secular Progressive Alliance despite contesting the assembly elections alongside the DMK. The Congress, which won five seats, backed Vijay and his party TVK after it emerged as the single-largest party but fell short of a majority.
The DMK's decision to seek a separate seating arrangement underscores the deepening rift between the two former allies. The political landscape in Tamil Nadu has shifted significantly, with the Congress ending its two-decade-long alliance with the DMK and extending support to the Vijay-led TVK. This move has been met with sharp criticism from the DMK, which views it as a betrayal of the Secular Progressive Alliance. The DMK resolution passed on Thursday condemned the Congress for aligning with TVK despite having contested the assembly elections together. The Congress, having secured five seats in the recent polls, chose to back TVK, which emerged as the single-largest party but failed to secure a majority on its own.
