MK lays new conditions for 'power sharing' with Cong

Tiruchirapalli, Sep 22: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M Karunanidhi has laid down a new condition for sharing power in Tamil Nadu with the Congress saying any such arrangement between the two parties should include Puducherry also.

Mr Karunanidhi's fresh condition raised eyebrows of many, especially the Congressmen in Tamil Nadu who were very happy with his earlier announcement made during a press conference in the city on Sunday, Sep 21 that the DMK would consider sharing power in the Tamil Nadu with the Congress if such request came from the Party High Command. In his address after accepting the Periyar Award here, Mr Karunanidhi laid down the new condition after Tamil Nadu Congress President K V Thangabalu welcomed the Chief Minister's earlier announcement of sharing power.

Mr Karunanidhi further said topics like power sharing arrangement should be discussed by the High Command of both the parties. ''We should not give room for the press to play an adverse role which might spoil the cordial relationship between the Congress and DMK,'' he added. Emphasising the need for strengthening and expanding the friendship between the DMK and the Congress, Mr Karunanidhi said he would take a decision on the question of power sharing between DMK and Congress in Tamil Nadu after holding discussions with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Mr Karunanidhi also underlined the need to prevent communal forces from coming back to power.

Fundamentalism and communal hatred were the reasons for terrorism raising its head in the country. There was a need to protect the country from communalism and terrorism, which would consume all.

The DMK and the Congress were firm that communal forces should not be allowed to stage a comeback, he said. ''I and Ms Sonia Gandhi are firm on this. But only because a few parties were opposed to secularism being given importance, terrorism was rearing its head,'' he claimed.

Only when fundamentalism and terrorism were checked, the country would be peaceful and grow. Even when the DMK aligned with the BJP, it had got an assurance in the common minimum programme from the latter that it would not deviate from the path of secularism.

When the BJP deviated, the DMK pulled out and struck a new alliance accepting Ms Gandhi as the leader. Though ties between the parties were strong and needed no renewal, ''we should not allow our differences to allow communal forces to stage a comeback. The alliance should and will continue,'' he added.

UNI