Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in her eagerness to come clear of the accusations that “the AIADMK had sent kar sevaks to Ayodhya” made a mention of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the first time during her electioneering here on Sunday.
Emphatically stating that it was the BJP that supported the kar seva and sent kar sevaks to Ayodhya, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the DMK was part of the then BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre from 1999 to 2003 and enjoyed lucrative ministerial berths in the NDA government.
“If DMK leader M. Karunanidhi was really opposed to kar seva, why his party was part of the then NDA government?” Therefore, it was clear that he was pursuing opportunistic politics, she said. Canvassing for the party candidate A. Arunmozhithevan for the Cuddalore constituency, Ms. Jayalalithaa came down on Mr. Karunanidhi who, she said, was avidly practising the Paul Joseph Goebbel’s philosophy that “if you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will come to believe it.” Though she denied the allegation time and again, Mr. Karunanidhi kept on harping on the same subject with an eye on cornering the minority votes.
She denied the allegation of Mr. Karunanidhi that the AIADMK election manifesto did not make any mention of inflation.
Ms. Jayalalithaa noted that at least under three heads in the AIADMK poll manifesto, the party had elaborated the impact of inflation and described the ways and means of curbing it.
She accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government of giving step-motherly treatment to the people of Tamil Nadu and its government.
“If Tamil Nadu has to get back its rights on issues relating to fishermen, restoration of Katchatheevu, Sri Lankan Tamils and water sharing, people should strengthen the AIADMK by electing all its 40 candidates (in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) to enable the party to have its say in the formation of a government at the Centre.” Later, Ms. Jayalalithaa campaigned for S. Rajendran,
