Rahul Gandhi (File photo)
CHENNAI: Rahul Gandhi has endorsed the demand for power sharing in Tamil Nadu, two Congress functionaries told TOI. They said Rahul, who was in Gudalur on Tuesday, raised the matter in a casual conversation with TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai in the presence of Nilgiris MP A Raja of DMK, who reportedly replied that CM and DMK supremo M K Stalin would decide on the matter. TOI could not confirm it with Raja.”Rahul wondered why DMK was not accepting the idea of power-sharing when (PM Narendra) Modi is okay with it at Centre and N Chandrababu Naidu has done it in Andhra Pradesh,” said a Congress politician, who claimed to be privy to the conversation. He said Rahul referred to the “unconditional” support Congress had extended to M Karunanidhi in 2006 when DMK with 96 MLAs, didn’t have the majority to form govt.Another source, an AICC member, said he “was told” about Rahul being upset about DMK’s silence on Congress’s demand for three cabinet berths (as TOI reported last week). “Rahul is said to have directed Selvaperunthagai to convince DMK, and Raja, who was present, said his ‘Thalaivar’ (Stalin) would decide on power sharing,” he said.Rahul, after an event at a Gudalur school on Tuesday, travelled to the helipad in a car with Raja, Selvaperunthagai and AICC member Girish Chodankar.
