By IANS
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Monday made a serious attempt to downplay the differences between his DMK party and its main ally Congress that are threatening to bring down the 14-month-old government.
“Let us take a pledge to the effect that we will continue to walk along the same path and not change our ways,” Karunanidhi said, during his maiden visit to Satyamurthi Bhavan, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee headquarters, to unveil a portrait of late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 63rd birth anniversary Monday.
Announcing that the IT highway in the southern outskirts of Chennai would be named after Rajiv Gandhi, Karunanidhi made light of his visit to the state Congress headquarters, saying: “A section of the press made a big thing out of it as though I was setting foot on the moon. But even that has produced a good result – attracting a huge crowd here.”
Karunanidhi said that while both he and his party had well defined differences of opinion with the Congress, he was politically cultured enough to ensure that such matters never intervened in his cordial relations.
“During my young days, I had vehemently opposed Congress stalwart Satyamurthi when he inaugurated an event in my native village of Thirukkuvalai. But in more recent times, I have come closer to the Congress leadership. More than Rajiv, I was closer to Sanjay Gandhi and his mother the late Indira to whom I offered solace when her younger son died in a plane crash,” Karunanidhi recalled.
“I have to point out to everybody that my policies and differences with the Congress are unchanged. But that hasn’t deterred me from having good relations with the party. In other states, political parties function in an atmosphere of friendliness.
“Here, workers are always scared as to whether action will be taken against them for merely visiting the office of a fraternal political party,” Karunanidhi said in an obvious reference to AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha who had expelled some of her senior leaders for hobnobbing with other parties.
Detailing his association with Rajiv Gandhi, Karunanidhi pointed out that the new seating arrangements in the state legislative assembly were done on the prompting of the late prime minister.
“In a way, Rajiv shaped the modern day assembly like a master craftsman,” Karunanidhi averred.