The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Karunanidhi criticises BJP

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Tuesday, Mar 18, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Karunanidhi criticises BJP

Special Correspondent

For maintaining silence on Hogenakal water supply scheme

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Monday criticised the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party for maintaining silence on the Hogenakal water supply scheme and the efforts of the Karnataka BJP to scuttle it.

On Sunday, Karnataka BJP leader and former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and a team that crossed over to Tamil Nadu in coracles asked Tamil Nadu not to take up development projects in Hogenakal.

Asked about this, Mr. Karunanidhi said Mr. Yeddyurappa belonged to the BJP. This act had been condemned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Hogenakal water supply scheme was meant to fulfil the drinking water needs of the fluoride affected people of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri. It was against this that the BJP, a national party, was agitating. The Tamil Nadu BJP, which issued statements on all issues, was silent on this, he said.

Replying to another question, he said there was no move to hike bus fares. In 2001, after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam came to power, it hiked bus fares by 6 paise per km. After this there was no hike in the AIADMK regime.

The truth was that despite the rise in fuel costs, the advice of officials to hike fares and even though the transport corporations were piling up losses, the government had not increased the fares. No government could effect a rate hike in secrecy, he said.

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