AIADMK supported NDA as quid pro quo: DMK

Chennai: The DMK has lashed out at arch-rival AIADMK for not voting in favour of the no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government, alleging the ruling party in Tamil Nadu supported the NDA as a “quid pro quo” despite several issues.

DMK Working President MK Stalin, whose party has no members in the Lok Sabha, had urged the AIADMK to support the no-confidence motion as it has 37 MPs in the Lok Sabha, making it the third-largest party after the ruling BJP and opposition Congress.

“Support for Modi Govt in #NoConfidence despite NEET, 15th Finance Commission, GST, Hindi imposition and communal politics is further proof of the quid pro quo arrangement between ADMK and BJP,” Stalin said in a tweet late last night.

The no-confidence motion, moved by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), a former BJP ally, against the Modi government was decisively defeated last night.

The government won the motion by 325 against 126 votes.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK Joint Coordinator K Palaniswami had indicated on Thursday that his party might not support the motion as it was moved by the TDP for an issue concerning Andhra Pradesh.

“No party had backed Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue when AIADMK lawmakers had stalled Lok Sabha for nearly three weeks seeking the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee,” Palaniswami had said.

Several AIADMK members opposed the no-confidence motion that came as a boost to the NDA.

The no-trust motion was the first after Modi assumed office in May 2014 and less than a year before the next general elections.