DMK patriarch turns 90

DMK chief M Karunanidhi, whose party has been hit by the 2G spectrum case and bickering among leaders, turned 90 today, as he seeks to galvanise the workers with less than a year left for the next Lok Sabha polls.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi telephonically conveyed their greetings to the DMK patriarch at his CIT residence, where his son M K Stalin was also present, party sources said.
Karunanidhi has his hands full facing issues like the sibling rivalry involving his sons, elder son Alagiri and Stalin to gain control of the party, the 2G case and virtual political isolation after pulling out from UPA this March.

However, the DMK first family was in full attendance with former Union Minister Alagiri, daughter and Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and grand nephew, former union minister Dayanidhi Maran,greeting him at the residence.
Senior party leader T R Baalu and former Telecom minister A Raja also called on the leader and greeted him.
Scores of supporters thronged the party headquarters "Anna Arivalayam" as the birthday celebrations are seen as an attempt to pep up the party with hardly a year left for the Lok Sabha polls, considered crucial for DMK after being trounced by arch rival AIADMK in the 2011 assembly elections.

Party workers burst crackers and distributed sweets across the state on the occasion.

Upset by continuing internal bickering in his party, Karunanidhi, a five-time chief minister, had recently made a fervent appeal for unity, saying he was grieved over the fact that there was enough squabbling in the ranks that would harm the party more than any external factor.
Adding to his woes is the cloud of the 2G spectrum allocation scam, in which Kanimozhi and Raja are accused.
A former ally of Congress, DMK withdrew support to UPA and pulled out its five central ministers over the issue of alleged human rights violations of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile,party sources said a host of programmes have been got up to celebrate the occasion including blood donation camps and a public meeting to be chaired by Karunanidhi later this evening.
BJP State unit chief Pon Radhakrishnan and Dravidar Kazhagam President K Veeramani were among those who extended their greetings to Karunanidhi.