<p>The DMK supremo, who turned 88 today, cancelled a visit to Delhi to meet Kanimozhi lodged in Tihar jail and the day was bereft of traditional pomp and glory.<br /><br />"Cadres who have dedicated themselves to social and political renaissance should keep going without forgetting that bad friendship will end in trouble," he said.<br /><br />Seeking to downplay his comments, Congress dismissed suggestions that it was a veiled threat to the tie-up between the two parties.<br /><br />"There is no question of any threat veiled or unveiled. DMK and Congress are allies... Kindly do not speculate", party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters in Delhi.<br />He also wished Karunanidhi on his birthday. "We extend our greetings to him as a valued ally," he said replying to a question.<br /><br />This is the second time in three weeks the DMK chief has made an indirect attack on the Congress. On May 21, the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister sought to blame the Congress for the combine's defeat in Assembly elections.<br /><br />"This is a time when the DMK has suffered a huge defeat by losing power in the state. What are the reasons for the defeat? Whether it was the seats alloted to parties aligned with us or the constituencies forcibly taken from us or the the unprecedented restrictions imposed by the Election Commission?"<br /><br />"I don't want to go into these reasons now," he had said in his epistle to party workers. <br /><br />The birthday celebrations, usually a platform for DMK to display its strength, was low-key ostensibly after the party-led Front was routed in the polls and with Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and DMK's trusted member and former Telecom Minister A Raja lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail for their alleged role in the 2G scam.<br /><br />Besides Karunanidhi's grand-nephew and Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran is also in the eye of a storm over alleged pay-offs by a Malaysian company which benefited from equity sold by Aircel. Maran has denied the charges.<br /><br />The DMK patriarch had issued a statement last night, saying he was "not in the frame of mind" to participate in any event other than the planned wreath laying ceremony at memorials of Anna (former Chief Minister Annadurai) and Periyar (rationalist leader E V Ramasamy) on his birthday.<br /><br />He had requested his partymen not to compel him to meet them and offered an apology saying he will not be able to meet them both in his house and at the party headquarters.</p>
<p>The DMK supremo, who turned 88 today, cancelled a visit to Delhi to meet Kanimozhi lodged in Tihar jail and the day was bereft of traditional pomp and glory.<br /><br />"Cadres who have dedicated themselves to social and political renaissance should keep going without forgetting that bad friendship will end in trouble," he said.<br /><br />Seeking to downplay his comments, Congress dismissed suggestions that it was a veiled threat to the tie-up between the two parties.<br /><br />"There is no question of any threat veiled or unveiled. DMK and Congress are allies... Kindly do not speculate", party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters in Delhi.<br />He also wished Karunanidhi on his birthday. "We extend our greetings to him as a valued ally," he said replying to a question.<br /><br />This is the second time in three weeks the DMK chief has made an indirect attack on the Congress. On May 21, the former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister sought to blame the Congress for the combine's defeat in Assembly elections.<br /><br />"This is a time when the DMK has suffered a huge defeat by losing power in the state. What are the reasons for the defeat? Whether it was the seats alloted to parties aligned with us or the constituencies forcibly taken from us or the the unprecedented restrictions imposed by the Election Commission?"<br /><br />"I don't want to go into these reasons now," he had said in his epistle to party workers. <br /><br />The birthday celebrations, usually a platform for DMK to display its strength, was low-key ostensibly after the party-led Front was routed in the polls and with Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi and DMK's trusted member and former Telecom Minister A Raja lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail for their alleged role in the 2G scam.<br /><br />Besides Karunanidhi's grand-nephew and Union Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran is also in the eye of a storm over alleged pay-offs by a Malaysian company which benefited from equity sold by Aircel. Maran has denied the charges.<br /><br />The DMK patriarch had issued a statement last night, saying he was "not in the frame of mind" to participate in any event other than the planned wreath laying ceremony at memorials of Anna (former Chief Minister Annadurai) and Periyar (rationalist leader E V Ramasamy) on his birthday.<br /><br />He had requested his partymen not to compel him to meet them and offered an apology saying he will not be able to meet them both in his house and at the party headquarters.</p>