No crisis for UPA Govt, assures Karunanidhi

CHENNAI: Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said yesterday that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had promised that his DMK MPs will not insist on quitting Parliament in the wake of talks between New Delhi and Colombo on the situation in Sri Lanka.

'Karunanidhi has assured (me) that the DMK will not precipitate the issue,' Mukherjee told reporters after a three-hour meeting with him here. Karunanidhi has assured he would not precipitate a crisis

for the UPA government over Sri Lankan Tamils issue as the Centre apprised him of steps being taken by the Lankan Government to ensure safety of Tamil civilans.

The assurance by Karunanidhi to Mukherjee after UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi spoke to the Chief Minister, assumed significance as the DMK and some other Tamil Nadu parties had issued an ultimatum that all MPs from the state would resign if the Centre did not take steps to ensure a Ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

DMK and some of its allies have 24 members in Lok Sabha out of a total of 39 members from the state to the House. Mukherjee said India will send around 800 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka for the affected civilians in the north of the island.

"The Sri Lankan Government has assured India that it will provide humanitarian aid to the displaced people in the country through International Red Cross, Government of India and UN agencies," he said.

The DMK chief too told reporters soon afterwards, "I will certainly not create a problem for the Central Government."

"Conditions to start peaceful, political negotiations do not seem to have serious impediments at present.

"However, obviously a 40-year-old problem cannot be sorted out in four days [before the Oct 29 deadline]," Karunanidhi added.