MDMA doesn’t bother us: Maran

DMK leader, and now a minister in the UPA Cabinet, Dayanidhi Maran, said on Thursday that his party was ‘‘not bothered’’...

DMK leader, and now a minister in the UPA Cabinet, Dayanidhi Maran, said on Thursday that his party was ‘‘not bothered’’ about the Multi-Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA)—which is probing the Rajiv Gandhi assassination—getting an extension.

‘‘We are not bothered. We are clean,’’ said Maran, after meeting Home Minister Shivraj Patil today. Though Maran stated it was only a courtesy call, sources said his seeking an appointment with Patil—merely a day after the high-level meeting in the Home Ministry to discuss the fate of the MDMA—was more than just a coincidence.

Home Secretary Anil Baijal chaired

a meeting yesterday to discuss whether an extension should be given to the MDMA. CBI director U.S. Mishra had also attended the meeting. Maran was accompanied by other DMK leaders, including Minister of State (Home) S. Regupathy.

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Earlier, the Centre’s interlocutor on Jammu and Kashmir, N.N. Vohra, also met the Home Minister for the second day in a row. While yesterday’s meeting was termed as more of a ‘‘courtesy call’’ Thursday’s meeting was termed business.

Still unwilling to comment on whether he was staying on as the interlocutor, Vohra said he had come to brief the new Home Minister about the first two rounds of dialogue with the Hurriyat Conference.

Appointed interlocutor by the NDA government in February 2003, Vohra said he could not say anything about the timing of the next round of dialogue.

‘‘As of now, I cannot say anything,’’ he told mediapersons after the meeting that lasted more than an hour. After yesterday’s meeting, however, he had said that talks were likely in July.

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‘‘The Home Minister has spoken to me, and will talk to other officials as well. After that he can take a decision,’’ Vohra said.

Incidentally, the Centre’s interlocutor on North-East K. Padmanabhaiah also met the Home Minister on Thursday. Going by courtesy calls, his was the shortest—lasting barely five minutes. Padmanabhaiah refused to make any comment after the meeting.

Apparently, a spate of meetings—including one with PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti—left the Home Minister irritable. This became obvious when he finally decided to oblige mediapersons who had been waiting for over three hours to meet him.

Patil literally gave them a dressing-down, setting the ground rules. ‘‘If we have something to tell you, we will call you. If you have something to ask, you seek an official appointment from my staff,’’ he said, refusing to answer any questions.