Tamil Nadu: DMK may snap ties with PMK

The strained relationship between the ruling Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam and its key ally Pattali Makkal Katchi on Friday reached a flashpoint with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi asserting that his party would take a decision whether to continue the relationship 'in five or six days'.

"Our high level committee will meet after the women's conference at Cuddalore in five or six days, to take a decision in this regard", DMK chief M Karunanidhi said. The two-day meeting begins on Saturday.

Karunanidhi said that PMK leader and president of Vanniyar Sangam G Guru had spoken at a public meeting recently, threatening Union Minister A Raja and DMK MLA S Sivasankar.

"He is being described as a commander by the PMK. The commander himself is prepared for a war now. This type of intimidations are not new to me. I have been hearing them right from the day I entered public life," he said.

Earlier, DMK treasurer N Veerasamy, displaying an audio CD, claimed that it contained Guru's 'inflammatory' speech.

Karunanidhi said the CD would be played at the high level committee meeting and appropriate action would be taken.

On Veerasamy's remark about how long the DMK was going to have ties with PMK, Karunanidhi said it would be an insult to continue the relationship even after Guru's remark.

"We will take a decision to remove the insult at the meeting after the Cuddalore conference," he said, adding, he would hand over the CD to the police for appropriate action.

DMK and PMK are part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu.

While DMK has 96 MLAS, PMK, which supports the minority DMK government from outside, has 17 MLAS in the 234-member house. Besides PMK, the Congress and the Left front also support the Karunanidhi government.