Chennai:
The signs of strain have begun to show between DMK and Congress after the arrest of DMK Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hosts a dinner to mark the second year of UPA-II in office tonight, the DMK has made it clear that it will only make a token appearance at the function as none of its big leaders will be present there.
Speaking in Chennai, DMK chief M Karunanidhi said that TR Baalu will represent the party at the dinner.
"DMK's parliamentary leader in Lok Sabha (TR Baalu) will attend the UPA anniversary dinner," he said.
The DMK patriarch also said that he is leaving for Delhi tomorrow to meet his daughter Kanimozhi but made it clear that he "may not get an opportunity to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi".
Karunanidhi, however, parried questions on Congress-DMK alliance saying, "Alliance with the Congress is not the way you think."
His wife Rajathi Ammal had met Kanimozhi on Saturday at the court.
When asked if he is indeed leaving for the UPA dinner, DMK's Parliamentary Party leader TR Baalu said, "Our leader Kalaignar has clearly said he's deputing the parliamentary party leader. What more you need."
Earlier on Saturday, Karunanidhi had come out strongly in support of his daughter.
In a letter addressed to party workers, Karunanidhi had said sending Kanimozhi and Kalaignar TV Managing Director Sharath Kumar to jail is a violation of the law. He also said there's a vendetta against the DMK from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas, and that the party will win the war. (
Read: Kanimozhi in jail - Karunanidhi hits out)
Sounding almost crestfallen after his daughter Kanimozhi's arrest, 87-year-old Karunanidhi had told reporters, "I am in a position like any other father who has a daughter and was arrested for no fault of hers." Kanimozhi is largely believed to be his favourite child. (
Watch: Sad about Kanimozhi's arrest, says Karunanidhi)
The pall of gloom that has descended over the party is understandable. Already reeling under the rout in the recently-concluded Assembly elections, Kanimozhi's arrest proved to be a double whammy for the party.
According to sources in the DMK, Kanimozhi's arrest has divided the party over continuing its alliance with the Congress. Some in the party feel that ties with the Congress should be snapped as they view Kanimozhi's arrest as its ally's political strategy.
Others, however, feel that the alliance with Congress is needed.
With Jayalalithaa back in power in Tamil Nadu and given the history of vendetta politics in the state, the pro-alliance group feels the need for some presence at the Centre.