The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legislative Party have decided to extend their support to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) to form the government, state’s All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge Girish Chodankar said on Wednesday.
Chodankar said TVK president C Joseph Vijay has formally requested the Congress to extend its support for forming a government in Tamil Nadu.
“The people of Tamil Nadu have delivered a very clear, strong and overwhelming verdict for a secular, progressive and welfarist government that believes in constitutional principles. They have chosen the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam led by C Joseph Vijay to form the next government”, he wrote in the party statement on Wednesday.
“The Indian National Congress stands for and is the founding political party for secular, progressive and the welfarist politics in India. It is our constitutional duty to respect, uphold and help fulfil this mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu. Accordingly, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee and the Congress Legsislative Party has decided to extend its full support to the TVK to form the government,” Chodankar said.
He asserted that the support of the Congress party shall be ‘conditional’ upon the TVK keeping out from this alliance any ‘communal forces’ that do not believe in the Constitution of India.
He continued that the alliance between the TVK and the Tamil Nadu Congress would strive to bring back the Kamaraj’s glory days of Tamil Nadu, with a strong commitment to rationalist leader Periyar’s social justice ideals and B R Ambedkar’s constitutional ideals in the years and decades to come.
“This alliance was founded on mutual respect, appreciation and shared responsibility between the two parties- it is not only for the formation of this government, but also for future elections to the local body organisations, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha,” he said.
“Vijay and Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi jointly pledge to respect this historic verdict of the people of Tamil Nadu for a secular and progressive government, and to fulfil the dreams and promises of the people-especially the youth of Tamil Nadu,” he said.
In another development, Chodankar said, “Three term MLA S Rajesh Kumar has been unanimously elected as the Leader of the Congress Legislative Party in Tamil Nadu by the newly elected MLAs at their meeting held on May 5.”
The decision has also been approved by Congress President Mallakarju Kharge.
Curated by Dr. Elena Rodriguez
