Dayanidhi Maran offers to quit MP seat on Lankan issue

Chennai, Oct 19 (UNI) Former Union Minister and DMK Lok Sabha member Dayanidhi Maran today offered to quit the MP seat, in line with other DMK MPs on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

Expressing his desire to step down as MP, Mr Maran has written to party president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, seeking an appointment to personally hand over the resignation letter.

In the letter, copy of which was made available to the media here, Mr Maran expressed solidarity with the decision taken at the all party meeting that if the Centre failed to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to declare ceasefire within two weeks, MPs from Tamil Nadu would enmasse resign.

Mr Maran, who fell out of the DMK leader after Dinakaran daily carried a survey, portraying Mr Karunanidhi's Maudrai-based son M K Azhagiri in bad light, said he came to know of the resolution adopted at the all party meeting through the media.

Like other DMK MPs handed over their resignations personally to Mr Karunanidhi, he too wanted to personally hand over the letter, he said in his letter.

Barring Mr Maran, all the 15, party Lok Sabha members, including Mr K M Kadher Mohideen, the IUML leader, who got elected to Lok Sabha in DMK symbol, submitted their resignation letters dated October 29, to Mr Karunanidhi.

DMK's four newly elected Rajya Sabha members had also submitted thier resignation. Mr Karunanidhi's poetess daughter Kanimozhi took the lead in the resignation, when she put in her papers on October 15, a day after the all party meeting adopted the resolution.

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