Karunanidhi meets PM, says alliance is intact

CHENNAI - DMK leader and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Raj Bhavan here Monday morning and said the “alliance is intact”.

The meeting at the Raj Bhavan lasted 25 minutes. Karunanidhi had not met the prime minister as expected Sunday, when Manmohan Singh arrived here.

“The alliance is intact,” Karunanidhi told reporters after the meeting, adding that he could not meet Manmohan Singh Sunday due to a prior engagement.

The chief minister submitted a memorandum to the prime minister, demanding faster disbursal of flood relief. Tamil Nadu had earlier asked the central government for flood relief to the tune of Rs.1,800 crore. The state has seen heavy rains and floods in November last year.

This was the first meeting between Manmohan Singh and Karunanidhi after the raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the houses and offices of DMK MP and former communications minister A. Raja and his associates in connection with the 2G spectrum scandal.

Following the raids, Raja was also questioned by the CBI in New Delhi.

Manmohan Singh is scheduled to inaugurate the 98th Indian Science Congress at the SRM University in Kattankalathur near here.

The prime minister was earlier scheduled to inaugurate the DMK government’s showpiece Adyar Eco Park Monday. However, the programme was cancelled as the project was not cleared by the union environment ministry.

The prime minister was received by Tamil Nadu’s Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin - Karunanidhi’s son - at the airport Sunday.