Agitated Alagiri exits in a huff

CEHNNAI: Commotion prevailed in the general council meet of DMK on Friday when the issue of party treasurer MK Stalin’s succession plan came up for discussion.Union Minister M K Alagiri, who is also the party’s south zone organising secretary, left the general council meeting midway through in a huff when some of the amendments to the party’s by-laws were passed even though he had raised his objections before the high-level meeting was convened.When the media enquired with Alagiri about his sudden exit, he replied that he had to prepare for his Kuala Lumpur trip and assured that he would participate in the evening session. However, he did not turn up for the second session of the meeting.Former minister Veerapandi Arumugam criticised the move to bring up the issue of succession when Karunanidhi was still holding the post of party president. “Kalaignar’s wards Alagiri and Stalin are equally important to us. But, some are trying to force him to take a decision in their favour. It is also not to promote just one (Stalin) person,” Arumugam said.This remark drew sharp objections from Stalin supporters, which led to a commotion in the meeting. Party general secretary K Anbalagan appealed for calm and slowly, things came back to normal and the meeting continued.In the face of pressure from the party functionaries to sever ties with the Congress-led UPA, the party leaders explained that there was no alternative non-religious front in the political spectrum of the country. “We are a party that has been striving for minority welfare, which we cannot expect from the BJP. I am more worried about my country than Kanimozhi or my brother Raja. Take one week’s time and suggest an alternative party that focuses on communism or nationalism and is non-religious in nature,” Karunanidhi said sarcastically.