Karunanidhi closes door on Alagiri

Chennai: DMK president M Karunanidhi on February 14 virtually closed the door for estranged son and Madurai strongman K S Alagiri and said the former Union Minister who has been suspended from the party was in no way connected with the DMK.

In the last few months, sources in the DMK said Karunanidhi was trying to pave the way for the re-entry of Alagiri into the party despite opposition from his other son and party treasurer M K Stalin. However, Karunanidhi seems to have taken offence to the latest criticism from Alagiri on the forging of electoral ties with the Congress and that the DMK-Congress alliance was bound to fail and that the ruling AIADMK seemed to be invincible.

In a statement on February 14 shortly after discussions with party general secretary K Anbazhagan and Stalin, Karunanidhi said Alagiri’s comments aired by a television channel were totally unacceptable. Alagiri’s comments should be ignored by the party cadre, he said.

Karunanidhi recalled that Alagiri was already suspended from the DMK for anti-party activities.

The statement of the DMK patriarch would come as a shot in the arm for Stalin who has been gunning for Alagiri and also blocking his brother’s re-entry into the DMK.