LATEST TAMIL NADU GOVERMENT NEWS

Karunanidhi to visit Delhi Monday, Baalu to 

attend UPA anniversary.

New Delhi/Chennai, May 22 : DMK chief M. Karunanidhi said he will visit New Delhi Monday to meet his jailed daughter Kanimozhi, but is unlikely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi

He also said that DMK's parliamentary party chief T.R. Baalu will attend the United Progressive Alliance's second anniversary dinner to be hosted at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence Sunday evening.

None of the six DMK ministers in the Manmohan Singh government - including two cabinet rank ministers M.K. Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran - will be present at the UPA bash that is likely to be attended by Sonia Gandhi and top leaders of the UPA constituents. 

"Parliamentary party chief T.R. Baalu will attend it (the dinner)," Karunanidhi told reporters in Chennai Sunday, two days after Kanimozhi, DMK's Rajya Sabha member, was sent to jail in connection with the 2G scam.

The DMK is the third largest constituent in the UPA coalition with 18 MPs.

Relations between the DMK and the Congress have appeared to be strained following the arrest of Kanimozhi.

Asked about the ties, Karunanidhi replied: "It is not like what you think."

The former Tamil Nadu chief minister Saturday night discussed with other party leaders the issue of attending the UPA anniversary dinner as ministers and MPs reached Chennai from Delhi.

DMK sources in Delhi said the party was in no mood to celebrate the completion of two years of the UPA as Kanimozhi was in jail.

Karunanidhi said he would be going to Delhi Monday to meet his daughter Kanimozhi, former communications minister A. Raja and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar.

All of them have been lodged in Tihar jail for their role in the 2G spectrum allocation case and Karunanidhi is expected to meet them when they would be produced before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Court.

Karunanidhi's third wife Rajathi Ammal had met their daughter Kanimozhi Saturday in the court.

Asked about a possible meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the DMK supremo said there will not be any opportunity to meet her.

Karunanidhi, writing in the party organ "Murasoli", said the arrest of Kanimozhi is a vendetta against the party and his family.

Defending Kanimozhi, he said her only crime was being a shareholder of Kalaignar TV as per his advice.

According to Karunanidhi, Kanimozhi invested Rs.2 crore in Kalaignar TV out of her share of the proceeds realised by his wife Dayaluammal selling her stakes in Sun TV Network.

He said a sum of Rs.100 crore was realised when Dayaluammal sold her stake in Sun 

Water from Mettur Dam to be released June 6

Chennai, May 22 : The Tamil Nadu government

 Sunday decided to release water from

 Mettur Dam June 6, ahead of the usual

 date of June 12. 

The decision was taken at the meeting of the new cabinet headed by J.Jayalalithaa here.

According to an official statement, the government decided to release the water from the Mettur Dam taking into consideration the current water level, the southwestmonsoon and the water to be released by the Karnataka government as per the award given by the Cauvery Water Tribunal.

The kuruvai crop is raised in the Thanjavur region in Tamil Nadu.

The government also decided to appoint an expert committee to study the ways to improve the standard of education system in the state and postponed the implementation of DMK government's "Samacheer Kalvi" (uniform syllabus).

TV. After paying a tax of Rs.22.5 crore on the proceeds the remaining were shared.

Rajinikanth to be in ICU for some more

 time

Chennai, May 22 : Tamil superstar Rajinikanth, admitted

 to the Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre here, will

 continue to be in the intensive care unit (ICU) for some

 more time, a hospital bulletin said Sunday.

According to the bulletin, Rajinikanth "....continues to be in the intensive care for further monitoring till he is well stabilised in all health parameters. He takes his food on his own, spends time with his family members and watches television. The date on which he is expected to be shifted to the ward will be decided soon."

The matinee idol was admitted to hospital late evening May 13, with fever and fluid retention following acute gastro-intestinal andrespiratory problems and was later shifted to the ICU May 18.

The 60-year-old superstar also underwent advanced treatment including hemodialysis. According to hospital authorities, the actor is not permitted to have visitors except for family members.

Admitted for the third time in over three weeks, Rajinikanth was earlier admitted to St. Isabel Hospital April 29 after a bout of vomiting, and was discharged in the evening.

On May 5, he was again admitted to the ICU of St. Isabel Hospital after allergic bronchitis and fever.