Clarify if 'rainbow alliance' exists in TN: PMK to BJP

In a clear indication of fissures in the NDA in Tamil Nadu, PMK today asked BJP to clarify if the "rainbow alliance" stitched ahead of the Lok Sabha polls continued to exist in the State.
"Please ask them. Ask BJP," PMK founder leader S Ramadoss told reporters on the sidelines of a party meet when asked if his party continued to be part of the BJP-led alliance.
Asked if his party would be part of the BJP alliance for the 2016 Assembly elections, he said it would only be decided by the party general council.
The PMK leader's son, former union minister Anbumani Ramadoss, also echoed similar views at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu. "It is the BJP which has to say if the alliance still exists."

Two important allies of BJP, MDMK and PMK, known for their strident stance on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils were unhappy over how the Centre handled the matter, beginning with an invite to Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksha for the May 26 swearing in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.
The Centre's alleged denial of visas for UN team members to probe war crimes in Sri Lanka and 'Sanskrit week' celebrations were among issues that touched a raw nerve.

The BJP's seven party alliance which brought together rival parties like DMDK and PMK was even considered a breakthrough.
The future of the "rainbow alliance", made possible after a lot of groundwork and persuasion by several BJP leaders including former state unit president and Union Minister of State Pon Radhakrishnan now appears to be under a cloud.

Significantly, Pon Radhakrishnan (Kanyakumari) and Anbumani Ramadoss (Dharmapuri) were the NDA's only victorious candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.
Besides the saffron party, the NDA coalition in Tamil Nadu comprises DMDK, MDMK, PMK, IJK, Kongu Nadu Makkal Desiya Katchi and Puthiya Neethi Katchi.