NEW DELHI: It is not so much the physical-emotional stress caused by the gruelling visit to the Tihar jail, undertaken to meet daughter Kanimozhi, that made DMK chief M Karunanidhi change his travel plans. The grapevine, in fact, has it that the scrapping of his return trip to Chennai could have more do with the Delhi HC hearing Kanimozhi’s bail plea on Tuesday. Sources believe that if everything goes well, the family may return to Chennai together. But, chances of a meeting with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi during his stay in the Capital appear slim. A senior DMK leader indicated that the meeting might not take place due to “time constraints”. Home Minister P Chidambaram, nevertheless, went to see the DMK supremo on Monday evening. Sources said Chidambaram tried to persuade Karunanidhi to meet Sonia on Tuesday, but the former chief minister gave “no confirmation”, citing his pre-occupation with his daughter’s case.Former Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister M K Stalin, along with two former DMK ministers — N Suresh Rajan and A V Velu, were expected to land here by a late night flight. Sources said the entire family and the party top brass want be with the patriarch in this hour of crisis.DMK Union ministers M K Alagiri and Dayanidhi Maran have already been camping here for the last few days. That the first family has closed ranks was quite evident. Alagiri’s wife Kanthi, son Dayanidhi and son-in-law Venkatesan were in the court on Monday. While DMK functionaries hope that their ‘leader’s’ favourite daughter may get some relief from the HC on Tuesday, the family already has an alternative plan. Brothers Alagiri and Stalin, as well as cousin Maran, will try to meet Kanimozhi in jail, just the way father Karunanidhi met her with his third wife, Rajathi Ammal. While the 45-minute-long reunion took place over coffee, MPs T R Baalu and A K Vijayan waited outside her cell. According to a Tihar jail official, former telecom minister A Raja and Kalaignar TV managing director Sharad Kumar were also allowed to meet Karunanidhi.
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