An event to be held in a Congress-owned hall will have the Gujarat chief minister as the star attraction
An event to be held in a Congress-owned hall will have the Gujarat chief minister as the star attraction
CHENNAI: The Congress in Tamil Nadu found itself in a spot after renting out Kamarajar Arangam, a hall owned by the TN Congress Trust, for an annual function on January 14 in which the chief guest has turned out to be Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
After hectic consultations with the Congress high command, however, the party decided to let the event go on as planned.
Tamil weekly Tuglak, edited by Cho Ramaswamy, has been holding its anniversary celebrations in the hall for the last six years and this time-the 38th annual function-Modi was invited after his thumping victory in Gujarat.
Given the war of words Modi had with Congress president Sonia Gandhi during the run-up to the Gujarat elections, some state leaders were apprehensive of Kamarajar Arangam hosting the victorious mascot of the BJP.
Adding to the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s discomfiture was a statement from an organisation called Anti-Fascist Front, comprising some minority and Dalit groups, that the Congress would be “spineless” if it allows Modi to be chief guest at the function.
TNCC president M Krishnaswamy held hectic discussions with senior Congress leaders in the state and the AICC on Thursday. Finally, word came from the high command that the event should not be disturbed.
“The high command was of the opinion that making an issue out of it will give Modi more publicity. Anyway, the hall was booked almost a year in advance. We only hope that the Tuglak function will not cause any embarrassment to anyone,” a TNCC member told DNA.
Cho usually makes the booking for the hall for the next year immediately after the function.
When contacted, Cho said: “Some dalit groups and people who call themselves communists are trying to create trouble. Anyway the booking could not be cancelled and it is good that the Congress is not trying anything to that effect.
The Tuglak anniversary is one of the most decent functions in the country. People from different parties like Ramakrishna Hegde, Chandrasekhar, P Ramachandran and LK Advani have been chief guests at the earlier functions.”
arunram@dnaindia.net
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