P Chidambaram, AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad to fly to Chennai to mollify Karunanidhi

NEW DELHI: Union ministers P Chidambaram, A K Antony and Ghulam Nabi Azad are being sent to Chennai to mollify DMK Chief M Karunanidhi who had threatened that his party will pull out of the ruling UPA alliance if it failed to move amendments to the US-sponsored resolution on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue at the UNHRC.

Congress sources said tonight that the three leaders have been asked to convince Karunanidhi that Government will not compromise the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils at any cost.

Both Chidambaram and Antony are said to have good rapport with the DMK supremo while Azad is the Congress in charge of Tamil Nadu affairs.

Close on the heels of his Friday's warning of pulling out DMK ministers from the Government, Karunanidhi shot off letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, saying he feels "let down" by the "lukewarm" response of the government.

"If our demands are not met, it is doubtful whether our ties with the alliance (UPA) will continue...It won't continue for sure," Karunanidhi told reporters in Chennai.

The US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka is expected to come up for voting at the United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva on March 21.

In Lucknow, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said the decision on the vote in UNHRC will be taken after consulting DMK and other allies.

"The UPA government will take a decision on the vote against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC, later this month, after a meeting with its allies, particularly DMK," he said.