Gulam Nabi Azad calls on Karunanidhi

Chennai: Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad on Thursday called on DMK chief M Karunanidhi, but said there was no discussion on alliance with the 90-year-old leader.

Azad`s meeting with Karunanidhi assumes significance as it comes nearly a month after the December 15 general council of DMK, where Karunanidhi had ruled out alliance with the former ally. The senior Congress leader indicated that his meeting with Karunanidhi was a courtesy call when he said that it was his usual practise to call on the DMK chief every time he visits Chennai. The Minister painted a rosy picture of DMK-Congress ties when he said that the two had been together for decades and that Congress had no `fight` with its erstwhile partner. "Our leaders respect the leader (Karunanidhi). He respects our leaders," Azad told reporters after his over half-an-hour meeting with Karunanidhi at his CIT Colony residence here. He evaded a direct reply when asked about Karunanidhi ruling out tie up with Congress for the coming Lok Sabha polls, insisting he had not held any discussion on alliance and that it would come up only during elections.