The BJP claimed the INDIA bloc is "dead and buried" after the DMK announced it would not attend the opposition alliance's meeting in New Delhi on June 8.
The DMK said it was skipping the meeting to respect the sentiments of its cadres, who were deeply hurt by what it described as the Congress party's betrayal following its alliance with the TVK in Tamil Nadu.
The BJP on Friday declared the INDIA bloc "dead and buried", seizing on the DMK's decision to skip the opposition alliance's meeting in New Delhi on June 8 as evidence of deepening cracks within the coalition.
The remarks came a day after the DMK announced that it would not attend the meeting, citing its continuing differences with the Congress. The Dravidian party has maintained its opposition to the Congress since the latter aligned with the TVK, which went on to win the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Addressing the issue, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the opposition alliance had effectively ceased to exist.
"The INDI alliance has now broken into pieces. It was predicted that on May 4 there would be nothing called the INDI alliance left, and that prediction has come true," he said, referring to the outcome of Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and other states.
"The INDI alliance is dead and buried. It may exist on paper and on television screens, but it does not exist in reality," Poonawalla added.
The BJP leader argued that the DMK's refusal to attend the meeting reflected growing distrust among Congress allies.
"The DMK has flatly refused to join the Congress at the INDIA alliance meeting scheduled in the coming days. It has said that the Congress has backstabbed it," he said in a video statement.
Questioning the cohesion of the opposition grouping, Poonawalla said several constituent parties were political rivals in their respective states despite projecting a united front at the national level.
"And where does the INDIA alliance exist in reality? Was it together in West Bengal, Punjab, Karnataka, Delhi, Uttarakhand or Madhya Pradesh?" he asked.
He further alleged that the alliance was founded on political convenience rather than shared principles.
"This alliance was a model of opportunism. There was no mission, only confusion, division and ambition for positions," he said.
Poonawalla also pointed to what he described as contradictions within the bloc, citing the Congress and Left parties' electoral battles in states such as Kerala and West Bengal.
"The Congress and the Left were engaged in political combat in Kerala but claimed friendship in Delhi. They were fighting each other in places like West Bengal but projecting unity in the national capital," he said.
Claiming that regional parties had lost faith in the Congress, he alleged that its allies increasingly viewed it as a "deceitful party".
"After the DMK was betrayed, all regional parties have understood that the Congress is a deceitful party," he said.
Referring to the Samajwadi Party, Poonawalla claimed it had already indicated its intention to contest the next Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections independently.
"The Samajwadi Party has already said that it will contest all 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh and will not have any alliance with the Congress," he said, arguing that the opposition alliance no longer existed in any meaningful form.
The DMK, meanwhile, said it would not attend the June 8 opposition meeting in order to respect the sentiments of its cadres, who were deeply hurt by what the party described as the Congress's betrayal.
(with PTI inputs)
