DMK will begin seat sharing talks when time is right: Minister

Pudukottai: State minister and DMK leader S Regupathy on Monday said the party would begin seat-sharing talks with alliance members when the time is right and it will be finalised amicably with no cracks emerging from it.Responding to reporters on allegations by Congress leaders like MP Karti Chidambaram, that the DMK was "delaying" the formation of a committee, Regupathy said, "When the time is right, we (DMK) will form one. It's a big alliance and it needs to be finalised. The chief minister will finalise it soon. All parties have the right to ask for power, and the chief minister has the authority to allocate it." The minister added that the Dravidian model govt needs to continue with the support of alliance members.Responding to TVK leader Sengottaiyan's claim that the party would secure 42% of the votes, Regupathy said it would not even get half of that. "They won't even get 24%. It will be less. Sengottaiyan does not understand the numbers game in politics or the mindset of the people," he said. Regupathy also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his references to Tamil during his recent visit to Malaysia. "When he goes abroad, he praises Tamil, but in Bihar or Odisha, he calls them thieves," he said.