DMK MPs quit NDA ministry

A day after Dravida Munnetra Kazhaghan snapped ties with the National Democratic Alliance, its representatives in the Union Council of Ministers - T R Baalu and A Raja – on Sunday handed over their resignations to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

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Baalu (Environment) and Raja (MoS Health), who drove to the prime minister's residence, told him that the party's decision was prompted by differences with the Bharatiya Janata Party's Tamil Nadu unit.

Baalu told mediapersons that when he asked Vajpayee whether there was any message to be conveyed to DMK president M Karunanidhi, the prime minister, apparently in a lighter vein, said, "I am not going to accept the resignations."