Dayanidhi too hands in resignation

Written by changthai11 on Monday, October 20th, 2008

Dayanidhi too hands in resignation

20 Oct 2008, TNN

CHENNAI: Former union minister Dayanidhi Maran had to take a formal appointment from his grand-uncle, DMK president M Karunanidhi, on Sunday to hand in his resignation letter on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue. Estranged from Karunanidhi, Maran remains a DMK MP in the Lok Sabha. ( Watch )

While other DMK MPs from both houses of Parliament, including its seven union ministers, had submitted their resignation letters by Friday, Maran, once his leader’s eyes and ears in New Delhi, wrote to Karunanidhi for an appointment, and was asked to come to the chief minister’s CIT Colony residence in Chennai on Sunday evening for handing over his resignation.

This is the first time Karunanidhi has agreed to meet Maran after he and his brother fell out with the DMK’s leader’s family about 18 months ago after a daily from their media group published a controversial survey in which the popularity of M K Azhagiri, Karunanidhi’s elder son, had been shown to be limited.

Enraged Azhagiri supporters had attacked the office of the daily, Dinakaran, in Madurai in May 2007, leaving three employees dead. The incident led to Dayanidhi’s removal from his ministerial post. Repeated attempts by the Marans for a rapprochement had failed. Karunanidhi declined to meet Kalanidhi and Dayanidhi when they went to his house to greet him on his birthday in June, apparently because of objections from Azhagiri.

“Today, I have resigned in support of Sri Lankan Tamils,” Maran said. While other MPs had given post-dated resignation letters —because the CM’s deadline to the Centre expires only on October 28 —Maran’s resignation letter was dated October 19.

Asked about reports that he was planning to float a forum in his late father Murasoli Maran’s name, Dayanidhi refused to comment. With this, Karunanidhi has the resignation letters of all his MPs.