NSA Narayanan meets Karunanidhi

National Security Adviser M K Narayanan on Saturday met Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and briefed him on his recent visit to Sri Lanka along with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.

Narayanan, who arrived in Chennai on Saturday night, had a 15-minute discussion with Karunanidhi and briefed him on the envoys' meeting with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday, official sources said.

Narayanan did not talk to the media. Former Union Minister T R Baalu was also present at the meeting.

Meanwhile, the stalemate between the Congress and the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam over union cabinet berths and portfolios continued today, even as Karunanidhi in a reciprocal gesture thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for inviting DMK to participate in the ministry.

Karunanidhi said in a statement earlier in the day that the DMK's high-level action committee would discuss the issue and take a decision. Senior DMK leaders were closeted during the day discussing the issue but no decision has been arrived as yet. Karunanidhi in his statement also welcomed the prime minister's remarks that T R Baalu and A Raja were good colleagues.

"We thank Manmohan Singh's clarification on the DMK ministers in his previous cabinet, T R Baalu and A Raja, who had been the target of some Delhi-based satellite television channels," he said, adding that the prime minister's statement had cleared the air on the two former ministers.

Karunanidhi's son M K Azhagiri, who emerged from the meeting, said so far no Congress leader had contacted his party leaders. The first time Member of Parliament, who is tipped to become a minister in the Manmohan Singh government, expressed the hope that Congress would communicate with his party on Sunday and said a solution could be reached thereafter. Karunanidhi continued his discussions with his party colleagues on the issue.