Amid reports that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader and Union Minister M K Alagiri has submitted his resignation from the Union Cabinet to party president Karunanidhi, DMK leader TR Baalu met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi to discuss "alliance matters".
Though Baalu described the meeting as a courtesy call and to convey New Year greetings, he is believed to have conveyed DMK president M Karunanidhi's message to her on the state of relations between the two parties in Tamil Nadu.
The DMK is understood to have been critical of the carping attacks by a Congress leader E V K S Elangovan against the ruling party in Tamil Nadu and wondered how the alliance could function in such a situation.
Only on Monday, both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Karunanidhi had described the alliance between the two parties as strong.
Baalu also dismissed reports that Union Minister M K Alagiri had submitted his resignation from the government to the party, reportedly upset over lack of any action taken against former Telecom Minister A Raja.
Alagiri had reportedly demanded that the party should distance itself from Raja by stripping him of party posts and was also in favour of sacking Poongothai Aruna, a minister in Tamil Nadu, who had reportedly badmouthed him in the Niira Radia tapes.
Differences appear to have cropped up in DMK's first family with union minister M K Alagiri, elder son of DMK chief M Karunanidhi, voicing displeasure over party affairs and prominence given to younger sibling Kanimozhi.
Upset over recent developments, including DMK allegedly shielding former Telecom Minister A Raja on the 2G Spectrum issue, Alagiri is understood to have conveyed to Karunanidhi during their January 2 meeting that Raja should be stripped of the party post of 'propaganda secretary' immediately so it could distance itself from the scam.
He was piqued over the reported telephonic talks by state Information Technology Minister Poongothai with corporate lobbyist Nira Radia, in which she had spoken against him, informed sources said.
Since Poongothai is known as a protege of Kanimozhi, a Rajya Sabha MP, he is believed to have told Karunanidhi that action should be taken against both of them.
He also expressed his desire to quit the Union Cabinet as he was ill at ease in Delhi because of the language problem and would like to concentrate more in state politics, sources said.
With PTI inputs