Under attack from the BJP on various issues, including “inaccessibility” of its leader and Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, the AIADMK on Sunday hit back at the saffron party, saying it had failed to stitch up an alliance in Tamil Nadu and was showing that “frustration” towards the ruling dispensation.
With polls a month away, meeting central Ministers will lead to “unnecessary political speculations”, an article in party organ Dr. Namathu MGR said in an apparent reference to talks of possible alliance between the BJP and the AIADMK.
“It is a pity that despite knowing that (Ms. Jayalalithaa) meeting central Ministers with the election schedule in place will lead to unnecessary political speculations, they are alleging that (she) has refused to meet them,” it said.
Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not made any critical remarks against the AIADMK government during his February 2, 2016 Coimbatore rally, it pointed out.
“It is well-known that Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Coimbatore rally had not made a single allegation against the (Jayalalithaa) government,” it said.
Contrary to expectations, Mr. Modi had skirted any reference to Tamil Nadu politics at the public meeting which was billed as the BJP’s pre-poll campaign launch in the State ahead of the Assembly polls.
It was an “irrefutable” fact that the AIADMK government was delivering various pro-people schemes including free rice, gold for thaali (mangalsutra) and milch animals initiative, it said.
“But with the BJP today yearning for an alliance and with none to respond, it is venting out that frustration on the party-led government,” it claimed.
The AIADMK had recently come under attack from Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Pon. Radhakrishnan with the former remarking that he could not meet Ms. Jayalalithaa even once in his 22-month tenure in office, a charge seconded by the latter.
Union Ministers like Radhakrishnan and M. Venkaiah Naidu had “till yesterday” lauded the Jayalalithaa government for its performance, especially for having “redeemed” Tamil Nadu from the power crisis “created by the (previous) DMK government”, the article said.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had slammed the State government, alleging that it was helping those pilfering electricity. He had questioned why it had not opted for central schemes UJALA, aimed at providing LED bulbs, and UDAY, which, he had claimed, would ensure a turnaround in the performance of discoms.
The article also slammed DMK chief M. Karunanidhi for seeking Ms. Jayalalithaa’s response to Mr. Javadekar’s charges, saying the government led by his party between 2006 and 2011 had left the State in a bad shape and it was Ms. Jayalalithaa who had put it back on track.
