DMK men refuse to take charge

A day after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) joined the government, MPs from the party who had been named ministers refused to take oath on the grounds of a breach of faith by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

At a press briefing in Chennai, party leader M Karunanidhi said there was a difference between the letter delivered to the DMK by N Janardhana Reddy of the Congress which had promised them certain portfolios in the UPA government, and what they had finally got.

Although Congress leaders like Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, who had negotiated the DMK's entry into the government, sought to make light of the DMK's position, claiming this was only a "minor problem" which would be resolved, the DMK appeared to be sticking to its guns and said it would hold a party meeting tomorrow to decide on what to do.

DMK leaders said in retrospect, their decision to stay out of the government was a sensible one.

Although it did seem as if the DMK was only trying to bargain on better portfolios, supporters of the DMK said they saw the portfolio allocation as "unfair". The party said it would not join the government until the "mistakes" in allocation of portfolios were "rectified".

Reports had it that the party was peeved over not getting the shipping and Minister of State (Revenue) portfolios as promised by the Congress which is leading the coalition government.

DMK has seven ministers in the Congress-led coalition government with three of them "" TR Baalu (Roads), Dayanidhi Maran (communications and IT), and A Raja (environment and forest)"" holding Cabinet rank.

The four ministers of state are SS Palanimanickam (commerce and industry), S Raghupathi (home affairs), K Venkatapathi (law and justice) and Subbalakshmi Jagadeesan (social justice and empowerment).

The DMK's argument is that if a leader like Sharad Pawar with just nine Mps could get the portfolios he wanted, the DMK had the right to demand the departments it wanted.

What is worrying the government is that despite having spoken to Congress President Sonia Gandhi - Dayanidhi Maran went to call on her - and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the DMK doesn't appear to be changing its mind on the portfolios and if pushed, could stay of the government.

"Our decision to join the government was wrong. We should have stayed out" a top DMK leader said.

Outside the government, the DMK could have the effect of making the Congress government look unstable. Unwise handling of a tursted ally also appeared to be adding to the crisis.

Congress General Secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu, Kamal Nath, said no letter had been given to DMK assuring it of ministerial berths as claimed by party president M Karunanidhi.

He said the DMK had given a wishlist and coalition politics was based on trust and accommodation. "When we formed the coalition there was no question of ministry", he said.

Nath said both sides were holding talks and expressed confidence the matter would be sorted out soon.Asked if the council of ministers would be expanded to accommodate demands of alliance partners, he said there was no such possibility. However, there could be some minor adjustments if required, he said.