DMK MPs will meet on SUnday afternoon in Chennai to decide on a strategy to take on the opposition in Parliament which has been mounting pressure on the government to remove DMK leader and telecom minister A Raja. The opposition has stated that it would not allow normal functioning of the Houses if the government does not sack Raja for his alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Meanwhile, DMK supremo M K Karunanidhi sent out a message of nonchalance at AIADMK chief J Jayalalitha's offer to support the government if it sacks Raja - by going for the premiere of the new Tamil movie - Myna.

In Chennai, Karunanidhi ruled out Raja's resignation and asserted that he finds no need to speak to Congress on the subject.

"What wrong has he done? He only went by the rules. He is not guilty. No auction (of spectrum) was made even during the tenure of Pramod Mahajan and Arun Shourie. They followed the first-come-first-serve policy. The same method was adopted in the allotment of 2G spectrum," he affirmed.

Raja is Karuna's compulsion too

Minister is the only prominent Dalit face in DMK

Keeping A Raja in the government is a compulsion of not only prime minister Manmohan Singh but also that of DMK patriarch Karunanidhi as the lawyer-turned telecom minister is the only prominent Dalit face in the DMK and his removal just before the assembly elections in Tamil Nadu could send wrong signals to the Dalit communities. That is why Karunanidhi asserts that Raja is targeted by the upper caste media and politicians because he is a Dalit.

Raja was a student leader of the Dravidar Kazhagam, DMK's parent body. All senior DMK leaders, including Karunanidhi started their political career in DK, the anti-Brahmin movement founded by EVR Periyar.

When matinee idol late MGR broke away and formed the AIADMK, most of the Dalits shifted their loyalty to the new party. Even after MGR's death, the original DMK was seen as a party of backward communities since it had not groomed or promoted any Dalit leader. This is the erason why the party suddenly made the lesser-known A Raja a cabinet minister in the NDA government in 1999.