Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha Meets DMK Leaders, Stalin Says Aim Is To Oust BJP

Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha and disgruntled BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha met DMK chief M Karunanidhi and party's deputy chief M K Stalin here today, with Tamil Nadu's main opposition party saying that the issue of “alliance” was discussed to oust the BJP regime.

Stalin, answering a question on the possibility of joining hands with the Congress to defeat the BJP, said the “aim of all of us is to oust the BJP regime."

"We discussed with whom we could have an alliance to achieve our aim,” he said after the meeting.

Stalin, who is the leader of opposition in Assembly, told reporters that his recent meeting here with the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao too had the same goal of easing out the saffron party-led regime at the Centre and to forge a combine to make that happen.

The meeting of the leaders and Stalin's assertion on alliance assumes significance as the Congress is DMK's key ally in Tamil Nadu.

Following Rao's meeting with Stalin and the DMK leader hailing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's efforts in bringing together anti-BJP forces, many in party circles had questions about the durability of ties between the DMK and the Congress.

The DMK leader said the visiting leaders told him that the BJP needed to be reined in and for that to happen, cohesive action was needed.

“We are in favour of their view and are happy about the meeting,” he said.

Yashwant and Shatrughan met Stalin at his Alwarpet residence here and discussed the national and Tamil Nadu political scenario, according to the DMK.

Later, the two went to the residence of the nonagenarian DMK chief at Gopalapuram and enquired about his health.

Former Union Ministers belonging to the DMK, A Raja and TR Baalu, were among the party leaders who were present.

Yashwant Sinha, who had recently quit the BJP after launching a political action group ‘Rashtra Manch,' hit out at the government, saying his visit was part of efforts to bring together forces that were against the dispensation at the Centre.

Shatrughan Sinha, too, had led a group of politicians to Yashwant Sinha's political platform.

(PTI)