CHENNAI, July 22: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M Karunanidhi on Tuesday struck a conciliatory note by diluting his stand on the compromise formula enunciated by him to resolve the vexed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) issue.

He said he would not thrust the formula on the United Front (UF) and that he would not adopt any rigid position which may affect the Front's unity.He told mediapersons that the formula suggested by him (getting RJD's support from outside and allowing the three RJD Ministers to continue) was not the final one, and he was not forcing it on the UF.

``I am more interested in the UF's unity, and I will not be adamant regarding my suggestion and thereby destroy the Front's unity,'' Karunanidhi said.

He was confident that the issue could be solved through open discussions and by a ``give and take'' policy at the July 25 meeting of the UF steering committee.

Karunanidhi said he was hopeful that a solution could also be found at the July 25 meeting on the DMK's earlier stance of pulling out of the UF Government if some members marred its unity.

He also reiterated that Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav should set a precedent by resigning from the post.

The issue (about inclusion of the RJD in the UF) was only a minor one. ``But sometimes even the issue, which we consider a minor one, can take a visvaroopa and spoil the unity of the UF if we are not careful,'' Karunanidhi said, adding that the UF was resolute in opposing corruption and communalism.

He said he would hold discussions with Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet regarding the formula. Besides, he would meet Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) leader GK Moopanar and UF convenor and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu regarding the formula.

Karunanidhi said he would leave for New Delhi on July 24 to participate in the meeting of Union Planning Commission (to decide on the Ninth plan for Tamil Nadu) and participate in the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect K R Narayanan on July 25.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.