DMK was against Kalyan govt dismissal in UP: Karunanidhi

CHENNAI, March 12: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was always opposed to the imposition of Article 356 (empowering the Centre to dismiss...

CHENNAI, March 12: The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) was always opposed to the imposition of Article 356 (empowering the Centre to dismiss a state government) of the Constitution on the ground that the state governments sometimes differed from the Union Government’s point of view, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi said on Thursday.

Talking to media persons at the Secretariat, he said it was the party’s strong conviction that Article 356 must not be imposed. The party had opposed the dismissal of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh in the wake of the demolition of Babri Masjid and the dismissal of the Uttar Pradesh government. “Though all political parties welcomed the dismissals, I issued statements condemning it,” he said.

Quoting a recent example, Karunanidhi said that when the Centre had recommended the dismissal of the UP government, which President K R Narayanan did not accept, the DMK had welcomed the President’smove. When deliberations were on to find out ways to pass the same resolution in the Union Cabinet, Union Industries Minister Murasoli Maran had strongly opposed it, Karunanidhi pointed out. “Moopanar and I even spoke to the prime minister about it,” he added.

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About Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy’s statement on LTTE infiltration in Tamil Nadu, the CM said that there was no such infiltration. The government had taken adequate steps to apprehend militants and those sending smuggled goods to Sri Lanka were being arrested, he said.

Asked if the difference of opinion in the United Front on the issue of opposing a BJP government at the Centre persisted, he said that the UF will take a decision at its meeting on March 16. “There may be a difference of opinion within the UF. One or two parties may also opt out, but the United Front will remain United,” he said, adding that many parties like the Congress (Tiwari), the party floated by Madhav Rao Scindia and Laloo Prasad Yadav, once part of the Front,were no more with it. When doubts were expressed about whether AP Chief Minister and UF convener Chandrababu Naidu’s would participate in the March 16 meet, he said that Naidu was expected to take part.