Chief Minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary Jayalalithaa on Tuesday promised to ensure that the Legislative Council is not revived in the State.
Recalling that it was AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran who had abolished the Council in 1986, Ms. Jayalalithaa told a press conference at Fort St. George that there was no change in her party's position.
“We will do all what we can to ensure that it [the Council] does not get revived. Hereafter, there will not be a chance for the DMK to revive the Council and we will not be put to the trouble of having to abolish it again.”
ADVERTISEMENT
To a question on administrative reforms, she replied, “We feel it is sufficient if we give an efficient, clean and transparent government to people.”
On reports of an invitation from Congress president Sonia Gandhi to her for a tea party, the AIADMK leader responded: “This invitation is something that I keep reading about and hearing about in the media.”
When a reporter persisted on the tea party issue, Ms. Jayalalithaa said: “My answer is this. After my victory in the elections, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi called me over the telephone, spoke to me and congratulated me on our victory.”
ADVERTISEMENT
She declined to comment on the status of DMK-Congress ties.
When another reporter asked whether her offer of support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre was still on, Ms. Jayalalithaa recalled that it was made in November last. “Why are you asking about it? It is up to those concerned to ask about it.” On the issue of fee structure for schools, the Chief Minister said now the matter was between the fee fixation committee and schools. The government was not directly concerned in this regard. “If the schools express their willingness for our intervention, we will do so.”
To a question whether the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme, Kalaignar Housing Scheme and Metro Rail project would be continued, she replied that it was for the Cabinet to decide.