Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday denounced the performance of the Congress-led UPA regime, saying there was no government at all at the Centre.
“The average citizen of the country feels there is no government. The country is in a state of drift. It is almost as if there is no government at the Centre,” she told reporters at the Secretariat here when asked to comment on the completion of three years by the UPA government.
Ms. Jayalalithaa, however, declined to answer a question whether the country would witness elections to the Lok Sabha before 2014, when it is due. “I cannot speculate.”
Asked whether the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) would support the candidature of P.A. Sangma for the post of President, Ms. Jayalalithaa said: “I cannot make any comment on that. I have written to political parties and leaders I know well, requesting them to support Mr. Sangma. My party has issued a press release on whom I have approached.”
When told even his own party, NCP, was not supporting Mr. Sangma, she said, “I have no further comments to make on the matter. I prefer to wait and watch the development.”
She had spoken to CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat, senior CPI leader A.B. Bardhan, Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, Telugu Desam Party leader Chandrababu Naidu and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, requesting them to support Mr. Sangma, a tribal, for the post of President.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Jayalalithaa visited the AIADMK headquarters to hand over financial assistance to families of 12 party workers who were killed owing to political rivalry, and 106 poor labourers, who are members of the party's trade union wing. She gave Rs.1 lakh each to the 12 families and Rs.50,000 each to the indigent trade union members. A total of Rs.65 lakh was given as assistance.
