DMK president M. Karunanidhi today said there was no breach in protocol in Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa not being offered a seat next to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee at the Chennai airport function on Sunday.Responding to Jayalalithaa’s charge that she was not accorded due respect, Karunanidhi said as per the protocol in Union Government functions, only Governors and Union Cabinet Ministers should be seated on either side of the PM.In a question-answer column in his party organ Murasoli, the DMK chief said the CM should be seated next to the PM in state government functions. He said while making an issue of the seating arrangements, Jayalalithaa had conveniently ignored the fact that when she was sworn in, Leader of Opposition K. Anbazhagan was offered a seat only in the 40th row, while those unconnected to the event were seated in the front row.Meanwhile, reacting to charges against him, Baalu in a statement issued from New Delhi today said the issue relating to his Ministry’s notification on the Coastal Regulatory Zone was before the Madras High Court.
