DMK relents on seats, 2G deal in fine print

The Congress- DMK standoff over seat in upcoming Assembly elections sharing is over. Sharp differences in the DMK's first family manifested in the final round of negotiations in Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's Parliament House chamber on Tuesday evening.

Only Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran turned up from the DMK camp for thrashing out the final peace formula. DMK chief M Karunanidhi had pulled out of the talks his Union minister and son M K Alagiri after protests in Chennai by his other son and deputy chief minister M K Stalin.

Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was seen by the DMK as an irritant in the earlier negotiations in Chennai last week, also kept away from the final round.

The standoff was finally defused by Maran and Mukherjee with the assistance of Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel and Tamil Nadu in- charge Ghulam Nabi Azad. Also present in the meeting was Indian Muslim League leader and MoS External Affairs E Ahmad.

The deal gives the Congress 63 seats -- the DMK agreed to give one seat from its quota and one each from the kitty of two other allies - the PMK and the VCK. Neither side was, however, ready to spell out whether the Congress will get the seats of its choice, besides 48 it contested last time.

Maran rang up Karunanidhi after relenting on the seat-sharing and then drove down to Sonia Gandhi; s residence along with Alagiri for a second meeting in less than 24 hours. Both thanked her for helping the two allies to close ranks as the alliance partners. Pranab Mukherjee and Azad also reached 10 Janpath at the same time.

Neither side was, however, prepared to spell out the deal on the other irritants, such as the 2-G scam investigation which has landed at the DMK's doorstep. That was the real reason for DMK to pull out his six ministers from the UPA-2 government.

"How can we make any commitment on the 2G spectrum probe, which is in the hands of the Supreme Court and the government can do nothing," a senior Congress leader privy to the negotiations for the past two days said.

Karunanidhi had reportedly wanted that his MP daughter Kanimozhi should not be interrogated at least until the polls are over. Mukherjee is believed to have convinced him through Maran that her questioning cannot be avoided since the CBI has to file the draft chargesheet before the Apex Court before April 3, but she may not be arrested. A hint was also dropped to Maran, the Congress sources said, that Kanimozhi and other family members can apply for anticipatory bail to avoid arrest.

As regards Raja, who is in judicial custody, he will be entitled to bail if the CBI fails to file the charge sheet within 60 days of his arrest. Raja was arrested on February 2 and his custody ends on April 3. Karunanidhi wants Raja out on bail, as he is a prominent Dalit face of the party and his presence is much needed The in the poll campaign. The Congress, however, gave no commitment on this score either.