Don't flay alliance publicly, Cong warns TN leaders

Congress on Monday warned its leaders in Tamil Nadu that action would be taken against them if they make statements in public against the alliance with the state's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.

Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, also the in-charge of Congress affairs in Tamil Nadu, maintained the alliance with DMK both at the state and national level will continue.

Azad's warning comes close on the heels of former Union Minister E V K S Elangovan criticising the Karunanidhi government in Tamil Nadu for naming a housing scheme after the chief minister when two-thirds of the fund was provided by the Centre.

Taking strong exception to the comments, Karunanidhi had warned such utterances would 'hurt' DMK-Congress ties.

In an interaction with journalists in Chennai on Monday, Azad said the Congress high command has not authorised any one in the state to make comments against the alliance.

"I would like to warn all those people making statements on the alliance. In future, any statement by any leader against the alliance will not be tolerated. Action will be taken," he said.

"Should anybody speak against the alliance publicly, that will not be tolerated," he said.

Many Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu have been going public with demands about the number of seats DMK should give to the party in the 2011 assembly elections.

Home Minister P Chidambaram's son Karti P Chidambaram, had last week told a television channel that Congress should contest in at least a third of the assembly seats -- which is 78 in all.

Congress had contested 48 seats in the 2006 assembly elections and won 35.