Cong-DMK ties will continue, says Pranab after meeting Karuna

Chennai, Jul 9 (PTI) In the backdrop of Dayanidhi
Maran's exit from the Indian Cabinet over the 2G scam issue,
senior Congress leader and Indian Finance Minister Pranab
Mukherjee Saturday discussed the current political situation
with Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi and
asserted that the alliance between the two parties would be
strengthened.
Emerging from over an hour-long meeting with
Karunanidhi at his residence here, Mukherjee told reporters,
"The alliance is there, the alliance will continue and it will
be strengthened."
There were a lot of reports and speculation whether
the alliance between the Congress and DMK would continue, he
said in apparent reference to strains in the ties between the
two parties following the exit of two DMK ministers, the
arrest of Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum
case and the rout of the alliance in the assembly polls.
Seeking to downplay his meeting with Karunanidhi,
which came two days after Maran resigned, Mukherjee said it
was his pratice to call on the DMK leader whenever he was in
the city.
Noting that this was his first visit to south Indian
city Chennai after the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, he said, "I
took the opportunity of calling on him and explained the
current political situation and shared our views."
He declined to take any questions from mediapersons.

MARAN-LD PRANAB 2 LAST
Maran was present at the meeting, also attended by
Union Minister V Narayanasamy and Tamil Nadu Congress
Committee (TNCC) President K V Thangkabalu besides DMK
Parliamentary Party Leader T R Baalu.
Mukherjee's meeting with the DMK patriarch assumed
significance in the backdrop of speculation over an impending
Union Cabinet reshuffle early next week and that he could
discuss possible replacements for Maran and A Raja, who have
resigned in the wake of the 2G scam.
At present, Karunanidhi's son M K Alagiri is the lone
DMK nominee in the union cabinet.
The DMK is reportedly not in a hurry to name
replacements for Maran and Raja. However, the names of Baalu,
party spokesman T K S Elangovan and A K S Vijayan are doing
the rounds.
Mukherjee's visit was also reported to be to "assuage"
the feelings of Karunanidhi in the wake of recent political
developments.
The meeting is the first top level contact between the
leaders of the two parties in recent weeks after Kanimozhi's
arrest for which the DMK chief had earlier blamed the Centre.
Karuanidhi is sore over the continued incarceration of
his daughter and skipped the UPA's second anniversary
celebrations when he visited Delhi to meet Kanimozhi.
Before Mukherjee arrived at Karunanidhi's residence,
Maran met Karunanidhi for the second time since his arrival
from Delhi Friday night, when he briefed him about the
developments surrounding his resignation.
Maran quit the Cabinet a day after the Central Bureau
of Investigation (CBI) told the Indian Supreme Court that he
had "forced" telecom promoter C Sivasankaran to sell his
company Aircel to a Malaysian firm when he was the telecom
minister in 2006. PTI VIJ
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