CPM leader P Shanmugam says Tamil Nadu political crisis is not horse trading

On Wednesday, CPM State Secretary P Shanmugam distanced his party from the CPI's stance on the ongoing Tamil Nadu political crisis during a press briefing at the Secretariat in Chennai. Speaking to journalists after a meeting with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, Shanmugam stated that the resignation of MLAs from the AIADMK to join the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is an internal matter of the AIADMK rather than engineered "horse-trading."

The statement highlights a notable difference of opinion between the left-wing allies, CPM and CPI, regarding the recent political shifts in the state. Just two days prior, CPI State Secretary M Veerapandian had publicly asserted that "horse-trading was happening in Tamil Nadu." Shanmugam, however, struck a different note on Wednesday, arguing that the political developments in Tamil Nadu cannot be equated with the defections commonly seen in north Indian states.

Shanmugam explained that the BJP's practice of engineering splits in other political parties by luring sitting MLAs to topple elected governments is a completely different scenario from MLAs voluntarily resigning to join another party. He emphasized that the two situations cannot be treated as the same, attributing the current resignations and subsequent move to the TVK directly to the internal affairs of the AIADMK.

Despite rejecting the "horse-trading" label for this specific situation, the CPM leader did not spare the resigning politicians from criticism. He strongly condemned the newly elected MLAs for choosing to resign within just 20 days of taking office. Shanmugam called this swift exit unacceptable and characterized it as a direct betrayal of the people's mandate.

He urged the public to raise their voices and protest against such actions by elected representatives. Shanmugam further clarified that the CPM remains firmly against horse-trading as a practice, regardless of who indulges in it, specifically mentioning both the TVK and the DMK.