DMK's Dayanidhi Maran to vote for UPA

Dayanidhi Maran of the DMK says he would follow the party diktat and vote for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

Ending the suspense on a stand on the July 22 trust vote, dissident DMK MP and estranged grand nephew of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, Dayanidhi Maran on Sunday said that he would vote for the confidence motion and support Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

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"I am basically a DMK man and hence will abide by the party's decision. People have given a mandate to UPA to rule the country for five years and my voters have given me a mandate to support the government. Hence I will be supporting the UPA and cast my vote in favour of the confidence motion," he said.

Maran told a crowded press conference that "Manmohan Singh is leading the country in a good way. Congress President Sonia Gandhi is advising him well. I want the continuance of the UPA government. I will vote for UPA".

He said Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Lalu Prasad, Kamal Nath and Jayaram Ramesh spoke to him seeking his support, but none of the DMK leaders bothered to call him.

Asked whether there was possibility of any rapprochement between his and Karunanidhi's families, Maran said "I do not know. But a coterie around my leader (Karunanidhi) is not allowing it".

However, he regretted the attitude of some DMK men towards him and his relatives. "The party has not yet told why I was asked to resign from the union cabinet and what mistake I and my brother (Kalanidhi Maran) committed. We were not even allowed to meet our granduncle (Karunanidhi) on his birthday," he said.