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TMC will back Congress government in Pondy

The Tamil Maanila Congress, which had withdrawn support to the DMK-led government in the Union territory of Pondicherry, today said the alternative government to be formed by the Congress-led opposition would be "more stable" and work for the welfare of the people.

Talking to newsmen at the party headquarters Satyamurthy Bhavan in Madras, TMC general secretary Peter Alphonse and leader of the opposition in the Tamil Nadu assembly S Balakrishnan said the party had decided to support the Congress for forming a new government.

To a question on whether the TMC would join the new government in Pondicherry if the AIADMK decided to do so, they answered in the affirmative.

On how long it would take for a new government to be formed, Alphonse said, "It depends on the governor."

Asked what the new government in Pondicherry would be -- a Congress or Kamaraj rule -- he quipped: "the two are inseparable."

Asked whether his party's decision to be part of the Congress-led government in Pondicherry was the beginning of a new relationship, the duo said TMC had never severed its relationship with the Congress even after coming out of that party. The TMC always of the view that the Congress was an important element of any secular government.

Asked whether the TMC's decision to pull out of the DMK led coalition amounted to subverting the people's mandate, they said, "Not at all." From the beginning the TMC had been functioning as a responsible partner and an opposition party. "We have not been afraid to point out the mistakes of the government," they added.

UNI

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