Tamil Nadu   

Deft manoeuvres from hospital

S. Dorairaj

K. Kalimuthu

CHENNAI: "It was a major but painless operation. Interestingly, one of those behind the successful execution is undergoing treatment in a corporate hospital in the city." Thus explained an observer on the role of former Speaker and AIADMK chairman K. Kalimuthu in ensuring the return of the MDMK to the AIADMK camp after a seven-year gap.

He played a key role in persuading MDMK general secretary Vaiko to clinch a seat-sharing deal with the ruling party for the Assembly elections. Yet Mr. Kalimuthu told The Hindu on Monday that the AIADMK-MDMK alliance was possible only because of "Amma's political diplomacy and magnanimity. I merely reeled out some stories and analogies while addressing public meetings."

Hospitalised on February 16, Mr. Kalimuthu was discharged after a week, only to be re-admitted with complaints of `vasculitis' on February 23. But illness could not deter him from carrying out his political duties including writing for the party organ. Just as the AIADMK was feverishly trying to win over some allies, Mr. Kalimuthu intensified his operation to wean away Opposition parties, more particularly the MDMK, from the Democratic Progressive Alliance. Extending an olive branch to Mr. Vaiko, he asked him to forget the POTA incarceration.

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