New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) The DMK was on Wednesday given approval to sit separately in Lok Sabha, away from the erstwhile ally Congress, which has become part of the recently formed TVK-led government in Tamil
Nadu, official sources said.
Last month, the DMK sought a change in seating arrangement for its MPs in the Lok Sabha, saying their alliance with the Congress has ended and it would not be appropriate for its members to sit alongside those of the Congress.
The DMK has been given approval by the Lok Sabha secretariat to sit separately in Lok Sabha, official sources said on Wednesday.
A separate sitting arrangement for the Tamil Nadu-based party is being worked out, the sources said.
The move came after DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for changing the seating arrangement in view of the changed political circumstances.
The DMK is also unlikely to attend the opposition INDIA bloc meeting to be held here on June 8.
The Congress, which won only five seats in the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, has gone ahead in extending support to the TVK in government formation, thus putting an end to the alliance with its old ally DMK. The party has now become part of the TVK government.
The Congress had contested the assembly polls as part of the pre-poll alliance with the DMK. This has led to acrimony between the two parties with senior DMK leaders calling this action of the Congress “backstabbing” and “betrayal”.
The Congress, however, justified its action, saying the DMK had also contested the 2014 election alone. PTI ACB ACB AMJ AMJ
