DMK-Left ties hit nadir: Karunanidhi hits out at TN CPI(M)

Chennai, Aug 22 (UNI) The already strained relations between the DMK and the Left parties hit the nadir today with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi stating that CPI(M) Leader N Varadharajan's remarks only showed that the Left parties had already decided to walk out of the DMK-led DPA.

Replying to a set of questions, Mr Karunanidhi had a dig at the CPI(M) State Secretary on the latter's remarks that Congress was a ''sinking ship'' and that the DMK would bite the dust in the ensuing Lok Sabha polls if it continued to travel along with that party in that 'ship.' He said the whole country knew how many times the Left leaders, despite knowing that the Congress is a ''sinking ship,'' had held talks with the party's leaders in New Delhi and visited Chennai to ensure that the Left parties did not ''disembark'' from the ship till the Centre decided to go ahead with the nuclear deal.

On Mr Varadharajan's remarks that the Congress had lost power in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand due to its anti-people policies, Mr Karunanidhi asked whether the losses suffered by the Congress did not come to their mind while travelling in the sinking ship.

'Was the drubbing received by the Congress in the recent Assembly elections in some states the true reason for the Left parties to withdraw support to the Government by using Indo-US Nuclear deal as a tool,'' he asked.

Mr Karunanidhi said the fact that Mr Varadharajan chose to make remarks like ''DMK will sink along with the Congress if it continues to travel in the sinking ship,'' despite his statement in the wake of criticisms by senior DMK leader and Electricity Minister Arcot N Veerasamy showed that the Left parties had already decided to break away from the DPA.

''This was crystal clear from the fact tht Left parties had started their anti-DMK campaign in various forms one month back,'' he added.

''I consider Mr Varadharajan's prediction that DMK will also bite the dust along with the Congress as his blessings,'' he said.

UNI GV SJ SY BST1333