The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Centre will not remain a mute spectator'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 01, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Centre will not remain a mute spectator'

Staff Reporter

Dayanidhi Maran warns ruling party

KANCHEEPURAM: The Union Government will not remain a mute spectator if the AIADMK Government indulged in `anti-democratic' activities in the byelections, Dayanidhi Maran, Union Minister, said here on Saturday.

Claiming that the manner in which the byelections to Chennai Corporation wards were conducted by State Election Commission had "shocked" the Centre, Mr. Maran told reporters that all possible steps to ensure the conduct of Kancheepuram and Gummidipoondi byelections in a democratic manner would be taken up by the Centre.

"Jayalalithaa's Government has developed anti-democratic attitude after coming to know that it had lost the goodwill of people," he charged, adding that people have decided to throw this Government out of power. Though the results of recent Parliament elections had reflected the anti-incumbency factor, Ms. Jayalalithaa had not accepted it.

In spite of being rebuked by voters in Parliament elections, the AIADMK has not learnt the lesson and continued to depute its Ministers into this constituency with the intention of preventing voters from exercising their franchise, he added.

DMK's complaint

The Deputy General Secretary of DMK and chief coordinator of Democratic Progressive Alliance byelection in Kancheepuram constituency, M.K. Stalin, said the DMK leadership forwarded a complaint to the Election Commission of India last night in New Delhi that the ruling AIADMK was indulging in preparation of `bogus' voter identification cards.

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