No danger to DMK-Cong ties despite Kanimozhi arrest

Despite the arrest of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi in connection with the 2G spectrum allocation scam, the party has so far given no indication of snapping ties with the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) at the Centre.

According to a Congress manager closely observing the developments, the DMK is unlikely to withdraw from the Centre — its last fort after the defeat in the just concluded Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Karunanidhi said a high-level party meeting would be held to discuss the course of action. But commenting on the tie-up with the Congress, he said, “I continue to have good relations with the Congress and the ties are strong.”

The Congress, too, wants to continue its ties with its second-biggest ally, which has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

Karunanidhi’s wife rushed to Delhi this evening to meet Kanimozhi after a Delhi court ordered her arrest. Kanimozhi, 43, is also a DMK MP. The J Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK, Tamil Nadu’s ruling party, has already indicated that the party chief is ready to offer support to the UPA if it dumps the DMK but Congress managers point out she has just nine MPs in the Lok Sabha and can’t compensate for the loss of the DMK. The Congress is also keen to maintain stability in the UPA.

Karunanidhi has booked six tickets on a Chennai-Delhi Jet Airways flight for Saturday. But close sources to the DMK chief says he had not decided yet if he would come to the national capital to meet his daughter, currently in Tihar Jail. The DMK chief has also been invited for celebrating the completion of two years of the second UPA. But under the new circumstances, he is unlikely to join the party on Sunday.

On the question of appealing before the high court, Karunanidhi said, “We will discuss with legal experts and take a decision.”

“I feel how a father would feel, I am in the same state of mind in which you would have been if your kin would have been arrested”, he added.