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The Tamil Maanila Congress on Monday formally rejected the demand of the senior party leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram to review its alliance with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, even as party cadres burnt his effigy at the party headquarters in Madras.
"How is he justified in seeking a reconsideration of the decision, that too through the media?" senior party leaders asked in a statement, adding, "Chidambaram chose to stay away from meetings of the TMC election committee even when he was in town."
Saying that Chidambaram's claims that he was not consulted were 'false and motivated', the statement claimed that party founder G K Moopanar had sent senior leaders to Chidambaram's residence to elicit his opinion. "Moopanar too spoke to him over phone several times," they added.
The signatories included TMC leader of the Opposition in the outgoing assembly S Balakrishnan, former Union Ministers Jayanthi Natarajan, S R Balasubramanian and Daushkodi Adithan, party treasurer D Sudarsanam and general secretaries Peter Alphonse and S G Vinayagamurthy. It reportedly had Moopanar's approval.
Monday's developments may have pushed Chidambaram into considering his future options. State BJP general secretary L Ganesan offered to take him into the NDA.
"Chidambaram is welcome to the NDA fold, even if he has problems about the BJP," Ganesan said.
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