Reacting sharply to State BJP general secretary L Ganesan's remark that she did not like the idea of front partners like PMK, MDMK and Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress (TRC) taking up issues directly with the BJP, Jayalalitha said ``I am indeed surprised at the pontifications of those accustomed to divide and rule.''

The AIADMK general secretary said in a statement here that it was only at her initiative the leaders of these parties are now able to talk directly to the BJP. Claiming it was she who had secured ``due recognition'' from BJP for PMK leader Dr Ramadoss, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and TRC president V K Ramamurthy, Jayalalitha, however, sought to justify the end of the AIADMK-led front when allies of her party started ``devising their own individual pathways.''

Jayalalitha's remarks about ``individual pathways'' assume significance when one recalls that some allies of AIADMK had indicated they did not favour her repeated threats of withdrawal of support to Vajpayee government on different issues in the past.

``These parties have devised their own individual pathways, and I thought it would only sow the seeds of confusion if they continued to assert that they still belong to the AIADMK front,'' she said.