Shanmugham takes 'responsibility'

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 9. The New Justice Party (NJP) leader, Mr. A. C. Shanmugham, today took full responsibility for ``all the mistakes'' that led to the NJP's debacle in the recent Assembly poll as part of the NDA, even as he sought to retain his hold over a sizable section of the Mudaliar community, openly apologising to them for his blunders.

The NJP's first post-poll general council meeting here turned out to be a ``crying-over-spilt-milk'' syndrome, though Mr. Shanmugham asserted that he finally accepted the five seats offered by the DMK at the eleventh hour, only to avert what he alleged a ``DMK-induced break-up of the party.''

At one stage, there was utter confusion at the meeting with Mr. Isari Ganesh, one of the ``architects of the alliance with the DMK'' being shouted down by angry NJP cadres and who were prevented by the others from coming to blows with the former.

Mr. Shanmugham, speaking to reporters later, said that NJP's decision to pull out of the NDA after the polls, was in line with the sentiments of the party cadres, who strongly felt that the NJP strength was neither duly recognised nor respected by the DMK.

While the general council finalised a schedule to complete party elections by August 25, before the polls to the local bodies scheduled in September, Mr. Shanmugham said the party planned to go it alone in the latter local body elections.

The resolutions supported the new AIADMK Government on its ``constructive programmes for the people,'' and urged the Centre and State Governments to approve a caste-based census, introduce an economic criterion in reservation, expand the MBC list to cover all sections of the ``Velalars'' in agriculture and weavers, and set up memorials for V.O. Chidambaranar in Chennai and Ottapidaram.

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Section  : Southern States
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