Karunanidhi 'sad' over his consensus mission failure

Chennai, Jul 8 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today expressed regret that his efforts to persuade the Congres and the Left parties to arrive at a consensus on the nuke deal impasse not bear fruit.

Reacting to the Left parties decision to withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, the DMK Patriarch, however, expressed the hope that there was still time for reconciliation.

''More than the prestige of the political parties, India's unity and integrity should be preserved...there is still time for it'', he added.

Mr Karunanidhi said the Left leaders got in touch with him over telephone and assured that they would not allow communal forces to come to the cetre stage.

Mr Karunanidhi said whether Indo-US nuclear deal was right or wrong, his concern was that a debate on this issue should not pose any threat to the stability of the UPA government at the Centre.

He said the ruling Congress and the left parties, which offered outside support, also shared this concern.

Though his efforts to bring about a rapprochment appeared to yield results initially, he regretted that they failed, he added.

Mr Karunanidhi, who played a crucial role in bringing about a rapprochment between the Congress and the Left in the past, wished that the UPA government would last its full term.

He replied in the negative when asked whether he would leave for New Delhi as per his original schedule on July 11.

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