A joint rally by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi was put off on Wednesday after doctors advised the ailing Tamil Nadu chief minister few more days rest.
“It may not be possible for the CM to attend the meeting. Since the meeting was scheduled to be a joint meeting, it has been postponed,” Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters.
The rally at the Island Grounds here was to be a huge morale-boosting show of strength for the DMK-Congress alliance in the state for the May 13 Lok Sabha polls, besides neighbouring Puducherry, where in all 40 crucial seats are at stake for them.
The joint public meeting by these two top leaders was expected to send out a clear message on the Congress-led UPA’s approach towards the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka.
Sonia Gandhi was to first address a rally in Chennai before taking a chopper to Puducherry for another rally. Both meetings were cancelled.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister, who underwent a spinal surgery in February to cure his back pain, took ill with high fever and urinary infection and was admitted again to a private hospital on May 3.
{{/usCountry}}The Tamil Nadu chief minister, who underwent a spinal surgery in February to cure his back pain, took ill with high fever and urinary infection and was admitted again to a private hospital on May 3.
{{/usCountry}}Though Azad cited Karunanidhi’s health as a ground for the rallies’ postponement, a source told HT on condition of anonymity that the Special Protection Group did not clear the rally venue in Chennai for Sonia’s address due to security reasons.