M K Stalin meets Sonia, discusses political situation in Tamil Nadu

New Delhi: A day after DMK leader M K Stalin met President Pranab Mukherjee and submitted a memorandum on the events that took place in Tamil Nadu assembly last week, he met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday and discussed the political situation in the state.

"It was a courtesy call. He enquired about her (Sonia Gandhi) health and she enquired about party supremo Karunanidhi`s health condition. It was a formal discussion. They also discussed political situation in Tamil Nadu," said a DMK leader, adding that the meeting lasted 25 minutes.

The leader said it "was also a strategy call" as Stalin came here for the first time after becoming the Working President of DMK. The party is also an alliance partner of the Congress in the UPA.

"Yesterday (Thursday), around 7 p.m., Stalin met the President and gave him a memorandum regarding what happened in the Tamil Nadu assembly (on February 18)," the leader said.

Stalin, who is also Leader of Opposition in the assembly, had filed a plea to seek annulment of the trust vote.

In his petition, the DMK leader also sought the court`s directions to assembly Speaker P. Dhanapal to conduct the trust vote with a secret ballot under a monitoring committee comprising the Governor`s Secretary, Chief Secretary and a senior official from the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Wednesday declined to pass any interim order to put on hold or annul the trust vote won by Chief Minister K. Palaniswami and adjourned the case filed by Stalin for February 27.

The court also ordered submission of the video footage of the happenings in the Tamil Nadu assembly on February 18 -- the day Palaniswami sought and won the trust vote by securing 122 votes with only 11 against.

As a part of its multi-pronged attack on K. Palaniswami`s government and to protest events inside Tamil Nadu assembly, the DMK, under the leadership of Stalin, also held a day-long hunger strike across the state.