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Formal alliance talks soon: Congress

By Our Special Correspondent

The Congress leader, Mani Shankar Aiyar, with the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, at his residence in Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: Vino John

CHENNAI JAN. 1. The Congress leader and MP, Mani Shankar Aiyar, today met the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president, M.Karunanidhi, as part of firming up an alliance between the parties for the Lok Sabha elections.

"We were talking about preliminary discussions (on the alliance) that (the Congress president) Sonia Gandhi and I had," said Mr.Karunanidhi after the meeting here. Downplaying the significance of the meeting, he said Mr.Aiyar came to greet him on New Year.

Mr. Aiyar said the meeting did not constitute the first round of talks. Formal talks would begin soon. The Congress wanted talks concluded by January-end. He met Ms. Gandhi before he came to meet Mr.Karunanidhi. But he was not an emissary. "I am carrying no message." As an MP from Tamil Nadu, he was delighted that the DMK came out of the National Democratic Alliance.

Asked about admitting the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) into an alliance, in which Congress was a partner, Mr.Aiyar said there was no difference of opinion between the MDMK and the Congress over the need to protect secularism and defeat communal forces. Asked whether the Congress was prepared to forget that the MDMK offered moral support to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Mr. Aiyar said the Congress knew its priorities.

"The 2004 elections are about fighting communal forces. We, therefore, welcome the coming together of secular forces on a common front to fight communal forces, not withstanding differences there might be on other issues."

He said he was not in a position to predict the alliance the Congress would have with the MDMK. "We are delighted that the DMK and the MDMK have left the NDA. We hope that other Tamil Nadu parties would follow suit."

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