DMK won't ally with Congress or BJP for 2014: M Karunanidhi

DMK president M Karunanidhi Sunday declared that the party will not align with the Congress or the BJP in the 2014 general elections.

He made the announcement at the DMK's general council meeting held here, a party leader told IANS.

In his address to the general council, Karunanidhi said party leader and former telecom minister A. Raja was fully blamed for the 2G scam and also referred to the jailing of his daughter and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi in the case, the party leader said.

The DMK chief said the Bharatiya Janata Party now was different to what it was during the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The general council empowered Karunanidhi and general secretary K. Anbazhagan to decide on alliances for the 2014 general elections.

Several speakers at the meeting said they were opposed to allying with the Congress for 2014, another DMK leader said. "Several speakers said the party should not align with the Congress to fight the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. They said the party can even go it alone in the elections," the DMK leader, preferring anonymity, told IANS.

The DMK walked out of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, expressing its dissatisfaction at the way the government was handling the Sri Lankan Tamils issue. However, it later patched up with the Congress and Kanimozhi was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha with the Congress support.

The DMK's general council meeting was held here to discuss the party's strategy for the Lok Sabha polls and other issues.