CM snubs Ramadoss on tie-up

Upset with the PMK leadership for rebuffing his statement that the party was in the DMK-led alliance, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the question of a DMK-PMK tie-up does not arise. To a query on whether there was still a chance of the PMK rejoining the DMK front, Karunanidhi retorted, "When I said there was an alliance, he (PMK leader Dr S Ramadoss) did not accept it. So the question does not arise."

Karunanidhi said he had confidently stated in Delhi that the PMK was a part of the DMK front based on informal exchanges between friends in both the parties. "The PMK has said it is not part of the alliance and they have not confirmed about rejoining the alliance. They have said they would decide only after talks at various levels in the party," the DMK leader told reporters soon after his return from Delhi. The development has created fresh hurdles for the DMK and PMK in quickly sealing a pact ahead of the assembly polls.

On Sunday, the DMK chief, who was in Delhi to hold alliance talks with AICC president Sonia Gandhi, told reporters that the PMK was part of the DMK-led alliance. Miffed with Karunanidhi for making the announcement even before a formal overture on his part, Ramadoss said any decision regarding an alliance will be announced only after a week.

DMK sources said Karunanidhi was upset with Ramadoss and his replies to queries from scribes on an alliance with the PMK clearly indicated this.

In an attempt to control the damage, Ramadoss, accompanied by party president G K Mani and two MLAs, called on state minister Veerapandi Arumugam, urging him to intervene in the issue. The 10-minute meeting in a Salem hospital, where Arumugam has been admitted for treatment, took place minutes after Karunanidhi's angry remarks on a possible alliance with the PMK. Arumugam's son and DMK MLA A Raja confirmed that the meeting took place.