Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran on Tuesday dismissed the talk of his party joining the front led by the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)-led front.
Replying to questions from journalists on reports of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) exerting pressure on the AIADMK to accommodate the AMMK, Mr Dhinakaran termed them as “speculative”. He said that as decided by the general council of his party last week, his party would head a coalition to make all the efforts that were aimed at preventing the DMK from capturing power again which, he called, the “sole objective” of his party. He and his party’s functionaries were in touch with “several and important” parties.
“I am willing to talk to all those parties which are opposed to the DMK. They all can join the front to be led by the AMMK. As far as I am concerned, I do not believe in treating any party undesirable."
Answering a question whether the Congress was one among the parties approached by the AMMK, he replied that “at present, it won’t be proper on my part to reveal the identity of the parties.” As and when the negotiations reached the final stage, he would inform constituents of the coalition.
To a question, he denied the suggestion that he had toned down, in recent times, his criticism of the Central government, especially on the rising prices of petroleum products.
“I have called for reducing the hike. I have been making my comment, as done in the past. Even with regard to the Union budget, I had said that it had some amount of happiness and much room for concerns,” Mr Dhinakaran added.
On the State government's move to provide 10.5% quota for Vanniyars, the AMMK leader said opinion of the public should have been gathered first and the reservation system should be framed which should have been acceptable to all sections.
