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No reservations about quitting Union Ministry, says Kannappan

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE Dec. 28. Even as the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) is meeting in Chennai tomorrow to decide whether it should continue in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Union Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources and treasurer of the MDMK, M. Kannappan, today asserted that neither he nor his party colleague, Gingee Ramachandran, had any reservations about resigning from the Council of Ministers.

``We will put in our papers if the party and cadres want us to do so,'' he said, rejecting reports that both had reservations about quitting. The party Ministers offered to resign when the general secretary, Vaiko, was arrested 18 months ago under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. However, he persuaded them to continue in the ministry, Mr. Kannappan said.

Claiming that a decision was taken during the recent meeting with Mr. Vaiko in the Vellore prison, Mr. Kannappan told presspersons ``but that will have to be discussed and ratified at the meeting tomorrow.''

Avoiding a direct reply to a persistent question what the decision was, he said, ``There is no pressure from any quarters. Our party has a strong ideology. We uphold the ideals of Annadurai and Periyar. We will take our own decision and retain our identity.''

Reacting to the statement by the Bharatiya Janata Party State president, C.P. Radhakrishnan, expressing a hope that the MDMK would stay in the alliance, Mr. Kannappan pointed out that his was the only party which had continued in the alliance since 1998.

Asked whether the president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, M. Karunanidhi, had contacted MDMK leaders with a request that the party quit the NDA, Mr. Kannappan said none from the DMK approached them.

(Last week, Mr. Kannappan said the DMK had a genuine grouse against the BJP as some of its State-level leaders had spoken in a manner that hurt Mr. Karunanidhi and his party.)

On the decision of the Pattali Makkal Katchi to continue in the alliance, the Minister said he did not want to comment on it, but observed ``the party may have taken the decision after considering what is good for it.''

On the BJP national president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, hinting recently that his party might not be averse to ties with the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Mr. Kannappan initially refused to comment stating it was the BJP's internal matter, but then said: ``We will discuss this also at the meeting tomorrow.''

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