Tamil Nadu's PMK quits NDA

The Pattali Makkal Katchi on Monday quit the National Democratic Alliance, party founder Dr S Ramadoss announced in Chennai. The party has four Lok Sabha MPs.

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It is the third party from Tamil Nadu after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham and Marumalarchi to quit the NDA. The reason is the keenness of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which heads the NDA, to ally with the All India Anna DMK, led by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

The decision came after an hour-long meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the party in Chennai. PMK's two representatives in the Union Council of Ministers will soon put in their papers.

Ramadoss said the people of Tamil Nadu 'are preparing to teach a lesson to the ruling AIADMK in the state and the PMK does not want to go against the will of the people'.

He said the two ministers -- N T Shanmugham and A K Murthy -- would submit their resignations to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Delhi either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

On Sunday, DMK president M Karunanidhi had expressed hope that the PMK would join the 'secular progressive' front it was cobbling up even as the BJP expressed keenness to see the PMK continue with the NDA.