No threat to Cong-DMK ties

DMK MPs in the capital did admit that the raids on their party leader’s houses in Delhi and Chennai came as a shock. Some of them huddled together to discuss it but refrained from publicly commenting on it.

The regional party’s parliamentary group leader T R Baalu met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, ostensibly to discuss the havoc caused by rains in Tamil Nadu but the issue of strain in the DMK-Congress relations did come up during the talks. Baalu, however, remained tightlipped over these meetings except saying the “DMK has taken the raids in its stride. There is no threat to the coalition”.

While the Congress depends on the DMK and other parties at the Centre, the DMK government in TN survives on Congress support. Thus, neither party has an option to bid goodbye to the ties although AIADMK leader J Jayalalitha had offered unsolicited support to the Congress more than once in the recent past.

Tamil Nadu is facing Assembly elections in April-May and the DMK is ill-equipped to dump the Congress at this stage. The Congress on Wednesday did not appear to be worried over the impact of the CBI raids on Raja’s residences on its relations with the DMK, or on the combine’s prospects in the coming Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

Sources said the Congress top brass had already got in touch with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to convince him that the CBI raids on Raja’s residences would not tarnish the image of the ruling combine in the state.

The Congress sought to project the raids as an indication of the UPA government’s sincerity to get to the bottom of the alleged irregularities in the 2G spectrum allocation. The party said the raids would not have any impact on its alliance with the DMK in TN or at the Centre.