After issuing a veiled threat to pull out of the Congress-led UPA-2 government at the Centre over the hike in petrol prices, DMK president M. Karunanidhi made it clear on Wednesday that his party would not create a crisis before the presidential election. “We will continue in the alliance with bitterness,” he said.
Leading a demonstration in Chennai earlier against the steep increase in petrol prices, the DMK chief said whenever his party’s principles were trampled upon, he had not hesitated to walk out of coalitions, be it the V.P. Singh Cabinet or the BJP-led NDA.
Mr Karunanidhi said the Central and state governments should not give scope for such actions, to loud cheers from partymen. But when asked later about his threat to pull out of the current ruling alliance, he clarified he hadn’t said the DMK would walk out, only that it was forced to do so earlier following a clash of policies while being a part of the BJP-led NDA and the V.P. Singh government.
Asked if his party would quit UPA-2 if there was no petrol hike rollback, Mr Karunanidhi said he would not threaten to pull out of the government over the issue. “If we walked out, the coming government will be regressive, with communal forces taking over,” he said, adding that he had been told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was looking into the issue and he was hopeful of getting good news.
Asked specifically if Wednesday’s protest was against the Centre, the DMK supremo told reporters: “It is not against the Centre, but against the (petrol price) hike.”