DMK ministers meet Pranab, as discussions on seat sharing continue
March 8th, 2011 - 7:12 pm ICT by ANI
New Delhi, Mar 8 (ANI): As the stalemate between the Congress and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) over seat sharing for the upcoming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu continues, DMK stalwarts M K Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today to find a solution to the ongoing crisis.
The DMK ministers met Congress President Sonia Gandhi late on Monday night, but the meeting was inconclusive.
According to sources, the two parties have not been able to chalk out a compromise on seat-sharing yet.
DMK had earlier put on hold the resignation of its six ministers from the UPA Government.
Deputy Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M K Stalin said that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee telephoned DMK chief M Karunanidhi twice and urged him not to pull out his ministers from the cabinet during the Budget Session and sought a day’s time to resolve problems.
The DMK currently has six ministers in the Union Cabinet, including Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister MK Alagiri and Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran - and four junior ministers - SS Palanimanickam (Finance), S Jagathrakshakan (Information and Broadcasting), D Napoleon (Social Justice and Empowerment) and S Gandhiselvan (Health and Family Welfare).
The decision to pull out of the UPA government was taken at a DMK leadership meeting chaired by party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, and attended by senior leaders including Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin held in Chennai on Saturday.
The party would, however, continue to provide ‘issue-based support’ to the Central government.
A DMK statement had said that the Congress demand for 63 seats even after the DMK expressed its readiness to concede 60 showed it was not keen on having it as an ally.
“Hence we have decided to pull out,” the statement had said. (ANI)
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Tags: assembly elections, budget session, central government, chief minister of tamil nadu, congress president sonia gandhi, dayanidhi maran, deputy chief minister, dmk ministers, dravida, elections in tamil nadu, family welfare, junior ministers, m karunanidhi, party president, pranab mukherjee, stalemate, stalin, stalwarts, union cabinet, union finance minister