Aadhav Arjuna, DMK and Congress MLAs Clash Over Alliances and SC Welfare

Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna engaged DMK legislators in a debate on Monday over the welfare and representation of Scheduled Castes, alongside the DMK’s ability to attract minority votes without the Congress in its coalition.

During the exchange, former Higher Education Minister Govi Chezhiaan highlighted the DMK’s contributions towards empowering Scheduled Castes, noting that the party had built a manimandapam for B.R. Ambedkar and renamed the Madras Law College as Dr. Ambedkar Government Law College.

Responding to those remarks, Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan recalled that the Congress administration in the 1960s had provided key Cabinet berths to leaders from the community, appointing P. Kakkan as State Home Minister and B. Parameswaran as Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments.

When Mr. Chezhiaan stated that the hard work of DMK cadres enabled Mr. Viswanathan to win the Melur constituency, Mr. Aadhav challenged the DMK's stance on coalition victories. Mr. Aadhav noted that the DMK had previously won three consecutive elections through alliances with 22 to 23 parties, but pointed out that the TVK became the single largest party in 2026.

Mr. Aadhav stated that without alliance partners like the Congress, the VCK, the IUML, and the Left parties, the DMK would have won just 10 seats. He added that Muslim votes in Chennai were drawn due to the Congress and the VCK, noting that 14 seats were lost in Chennai in 2026, and questioned whether the DMK could win 50 seats if it contested alone.

The discussion also saw exchanges between DMK MLA K.N. Nehru and Congress MLA Tharahai Cuthbert. After Mr. Nehru asserted that the Congress could not win without DMK support, Ms. Cuthbert said the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi was instrumental in the coalition sweeping Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu. Mr. Nehru responded by stating that while the yatra covered the entire country, the Congress secured 10 seats in Tamil Nadu alone.