DMK Parliamentary Party leader T R Baalu met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday when the state of the alliance between the two parties in Tamil Nadu came up for discussion.

Though Baalu described the meeting as a courtesy call and to convey New Year greetings, he is believed to have conveyed DMK President M Karunanidhi’s message to her on the state of relations between the two parties in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK is understood to have been critical of the carping attacks by a Congress leader E V K S Elangovan against the ruling party in Tamil Nadu and wondered how the alliance could function in such a situation.

Only on Monday, both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Karunanidhi had described the alliance between the two parties as strong.

Baalu also dismissed reports that Union Minister M K Alagiri had submitted his resignation from the government to the party, reportedly upset over lack of any action taken against former Telecom Minister A Raja.

Alagiri had reportedly demanded that the party should distance itself from Raja by stripping him of party posts and was also in favour of sacking Poongothai Aruna, a Minister in Tamil Nadu, who had reportedly badmouthed him in the Niira Radia tapes.