Karunanidhi to give Sonia a miss in Delhi

CHENNAI: In a sign of stand-off between the allies DMK and Congress, former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi said he "might not be able to meet Sonia Gandhi" when he goes to New Delhi on Monday to visit his daughter Kanimozhi, who is in Tihar jail after her arrest in the 2G scam.
DMK deputed its parliamentary party leader TR Baalu for the anniversary dinner of the UPA-II government hosted by PM Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Sunday.None of the party MPs or six Union ministers, two of them of cabinet rank, participated.
On Sunday morning, Karunanidhi, who came to the residence of Tamil journalist and long-time associate Chinnakuthoosi, who died this morning, said, "I will go to Delhi tomorrow. But I might not be able to meet Sonia Gandhi." Asked about ties with Congress, Karunanidhi said, "The situation is not how you think it is."
It is learnt that his elder son and Union minister MK Alagiri will accompany him to Delhi in a Monday morning flight. His younger son MK Stalin is also likely to reach Delhi in the evening.
Late Saturday evening, as party seniors deliberated on whether someone should represent DMK at the UPA dinner, Karunanidhi issued a strongly-worded statement, proclaiming his daughter innocent and laying the blame at the Congress doors for the defeat of the DMK-led alliance in the assembly polls.
Karunanidhi said it was he who wanted his daughter to be inducted into the board of directors of Kalaignar TV and that she agreed only because he, as her father, insisted.
The DMK supremo's remarks on his party's defeat were more telling. While he said he wasn't prepared to go into the reasons for the DMK's defeat, Karunanidhi gave enough indications that the Congress inflexible attitude during seat negotiations, their demand for more seats and the choice of constituencies had contributed to the debacle.
While anger against Congress was apparent, the DMK leader thought it prudent to send a representative to take part in the UPA dinner.
DMK, which faced a severe drubbing in the elections, and demoralised after Kanimozhi's arrest on Friday, was initially inclined to boycott the UPA celebrations.
All the 18 DMK MPs, including T R Baalu who was in Delhi on Saturday, were back in Chennai and least inclined to participate in the celebrations. But Alagiri and Karunanidhi's grandnephew Dayanidhi Maran, both cabinet-rank ministers, advised him that not only would it be churlish to turn down the invitation but also that they were in no position to antagonize Congress.
While even the party's inner circles were furious with Congress for not sparing the spectrum humiliation for Karunanidhi's family members, the need to remain a part of the central dispensation appeared to have determined Karunanidhi's decision to send a representative to attend the dinner to mark the government's anniversary. While a dominant section within DMK has been urging the leadership to pull out its ministers from the Union government and offer outside support, some influential leaders have counseled restraint. The party's defeat in the assembly elections and tightening of the spectrum noose around close family members were reasons enough for DMK to put up a show of bonhomie with its national ally.
As Karunanidhi held discussions with senior leaders at his Gopalapuram residence in Chennai on Saturday night about his daughter's ordeal and gave the impression that the UPA dinner was far from his mind, it was clear that he had given a lot of thought to the political fallout of such a stand-off. Congress sources insist they never doubted DMK's intention to take part in the anniversary dinner. "They have no option but to join the dinner as well as join us in putting up a show of unity," a leader said.