Amit Shah to skip MK memorial event

BJP president Amit Shah will skip the special public memorial meeting for late DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Chennai on August 30— a move that is being interpreted as a snub to the regional party.

Union Road Transport and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari will represent the BJP at the event along with the leaders from Opposition parties.

While announcing that Gadkari will be attending the event, the BJP did not specify reasons for Shah skipping the same.

DMK leaders told DH that only after Shah confirmed his participation his name was added to the invitation.

“However, we don't know what transpired later. Amit Shah was to come, but now he has decided against it,” a senior DMK leader said.

Political observers said Shah's refusal to join the event could only be seen as a snub to the DMK after initially accepting the invitation.

Shah accepting DMK's invitation left many tongues wagging and it led to speculation that both the parties may be looking forward for a post-poll alliance— the DMK had quit the NDA in 2003.

From 2003 till now, the BJP was not part of DMK’s scheme of things.

The DMK singled out the BJP and the AIADMK by not inviting them for Karunanidhi’s 93rd birthday celebrations in Chennai last year. The event was attended by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders touted it as a congregation of anti-BJP leaders.

Though the DMK leaders maintained that “no political meaning” should be attached to the August 30 event since it is dedicated to recall Karunanidhi’s contributions, political circles were abuzz with speculation whether the Opposition party in Tamil Nadu is giving a signal that it was keeping its options open, at least in a post-poll scenario.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, National Conference patron Farooq Abdullah, CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja are some of the leaders who will participate in the event.

Chief Ministers N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) and V Narayanasamy (Puducherry) will also address the gathering, according to the invitation sent by the DMK.