Karunanidhi arrives here to meet PM, Sonia

New Delhi, Jul 23 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today sought to counter-charge the Opposition NDA and its allies with resorting to money power in a bid to stop the UPA from winning the trust vote in the Lok Sabha yesterday.

''Money power could not change the outcome of the trust vote,'' the DMK supremo told reporters at the airport here on his arrival from Chennai. He was responding to a question about reports of MPs cross-voting after taking bribe.

The question was put in the context of the Opposition allegation that the ruling UPA had bought some of its members and the BJP bringing a bagful of cash to the Lok Sabha claiming it to be bribe money, but the Chief Minister sprang a surprise with his carefully worded response.

Mr Karunanidhi is here to congratulate Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on winning the confidence motion by a 19-vote margin, belying expectations of political analysts that the result of the floor test would be pretty close with just a vote or two standing between victory and loss.

Asked about the Centre informing the Supreme Court that it would go ahead with the Sethu Samudram Canal Project that would promote shipping, he said this was in consonance with the stand of the state.

He said he would discuss with the Prime Minister the plight of Sri Lankan fishermen, but there was no need to raise the Hogannekal project as the issue could be resolved without any problem.

He declined to respond to the statement of his grand nephew and former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran that the Centre did not make use of him (Mr Karunanidhi) to sort out the problems with the Left parties.

''I don't respond to the comments of children,'' he said.

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