Announcing this to media persons in Chennai on Friday, the Lok Shakti's Tamil Nadu president, Tamizharuvi Manian, said, ``We are exercising restraint only because we have a responsibility, as signatories of the BJP-led coalition's national agenda, to ensure that the stability of the government at the Centre is not affected.''

Tamizharuvi said if they did not stop issuing `derogatory' statements against their leader, the state unit would convene an executive committee meeting towards drawing up its agitation programme.

Blaming Janata Party President Subrmaniam Swamy for `instigating' Jayalalitha, he charged that both these leaders were only `working towards destabilising' the Centre. Alleging that Swamy was holding negotiations withthe Congress with the `active connivance' of Jayalalitha. ``It is apparent that they are trying to strike a deal with the Congress,'' he charged.

Jayalalitha's claim that it was she who had introduced A B Vajpayee as the prime ministerial candidate to the Tamil Nadu electorate during the campaign for the Parliamentary elections was a `myth' and the people had voted for the AIADMK-led front in the state only in the hope that the BJP would offer a stable government, he said.

Urging Vajpayee not to allow Jayalalitha to `put pressure' on him with regard to Hegde, he said the BJP should `totally' give up its demands in connection with abrogation of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and its Hindutva policy. ``Then the BJP will get support from several unexpected quarters, including the DMK and it need not depend on the AIADMK,'' he said.