DMK's Dayanidhi Maran too hands in resignation

Chennai, Oct 19 (IANS) Two days after 14 DMK Lok Sabha MPs handed over their resignation letters to party head and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi demanding an end to the violence in Sri Lanka, former central minister Dayanidhi Maran followed suit Sunday afternoon.

According to sources close to Maran, he handed in his resignation letter after a half-hour meeting with Karunanidhi, who is his uncle.

The resignation follows a decision taken at an all-party meeting last Monday that all MPs from Tamil Nadu would resign if India did not intervene to stop the 'genocide' against Tamils in Sri Lanka before Oct 29.

So far 15 Lok Sabha MPs and four members of the Rajya Sabha, including Karunanidhi's daughter Kanimozhi, have handed over their post-dated resignations to Karunanidhi.

These include seven DMK members of the central cabinet, including T.R. Baalu and A. Raja.

However, Maran, the estranged nephew of the DMK patriarch, did not give a post-dated resignation letter with Oct 29 as the date.

Karunanidhi told reporters that the letter would take effect only after Oct 29, as with the others. He said he was 'happy' at Maran's decision.

When reporters asked Maran if he planned to go ahead with his intention to float a new political party, he said: 'No comments.'

Maran said the prime minister should intervene immediately in Sri Lanka.

Karunanidhi has demanded India's proactive action in Sri Lanka to end the killings of Tamils.

'The party's executive committee will assess the steps initiated by the centre in the matter and if there is no perceptible change in the situation in Sri Lanka, the letters of resignation will be forwarded to the appropriate officials on October 29,' Karunanidhi had said Friday.

Meanwhile, over 100 actors, directors and technicians of the Tamil film industry addressed a huge rally in Rameshwaram, 600 km south of here, protesting the 'genocide' in Sri Lanka.

Stressing on the same demand, cinema halls all over Tamil Nadu cancelled the noon and matinee shows, a spokesman of the Tamil Nadu Cinema Exhibitors' Association said.

The DMK is set to organise a human-chain protest on the issue Tuesday.

Tamil actors and actresses in larger numbers will sit on a protest fast Nov 1.