The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Karunanidhi objects to Jayalalithaa's remark

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 29, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Karunanidhi objects to Jayalalithaa's remark

Special Correspondent

"Chief Minister's Delhi visit not to solve Cauvery problem" He accused the AIADMK of doing nothing to save the delta farmers or to get Cauvery water.

CHENNAI: Taking strong exception to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa describing the steps taken by the Democratic Progressive Alliance as "eye wash," Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi on Thursday detailed the steps taken by Democratic Progressive Alliance partners to get Cauvery water for Tamil Nadu.

He said the criticism of the systematic steps taken by the DPA only exposed the lack of culture of the Chief Minister.

He accused the AIADMK of doing nothing to save the delta farmers or to get Cauvery water. When the kuruvai crop was wilting, neither Chief Minister Jayalalithaa nor any of her Ministers took any action, he said and added that there was also no effort to convene an all-party meet on the issue. Neither the Karnataka Chief Minister nor the Prime Minister was approached in person on the issue.

But the DPA leaders met at Anna Arivalayam on July 13, passed a special resolution and sent it to the Prime Minister and the Congress president the same day. Only after this, Ms. Jayalalithaa woke up and announced an agitation.

The DPA did not stop with sending the resolution. The issue was again discussed at the DMK MPs' meet on July 17. Soon after the Prime Minister returned, a DPA team met him on July 25 and pressed for immediate action.

Mr. Karunanidhi alleged that after Ms. Jayalalithaa came to know of the DPA team meeting the Prime Minister, she immediately announced that she was meeting the Prime Minister on July 26.

After the meeting, she did not express dissatisfaction with the outcome. When presspersons asked her if there were chances of an alliance with the Congress, she replied that she had an open mind.

Mr. Karunanidhi said it was clear from this that she did not go to Delhi on the Cauvery issue; she went to request for an alliance with the Congress for the coming Assembly elections.

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