Left's 'frugal' gesture

DMK has laid out elaborate plans to celebrate the birthday of M Karunanidhi

This Saturday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) patriarch M Karunanidhi turns 94. The DMK has laid out elaborate plans to celebrate the birthday of their ailing leader. Top Opposition leaders, including Congress Vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad and Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, have been invited. The DMK has offered to pay for their air tickets as well as stay at Chennai’s Leela Palace Hotel. However, Left party leaders balked at the idea of staying at the five-star hotel. They have requested the organisers not to pay for their travel to and from Chennai, and added that they would skip staying at the hotel and make their own arrangements. Karunanidhi is unlikely to attend his birthday celebrations as he is extremely unwell.