``Instead of petty politics and greed for power, what is needed is a spirit of co-operation, so that all parties can join together to save the nation from an economic collapse,'' Jayalalitha said in a statement. ``India stands on the very edge of disaster,'' she said, requesting ``friends and colleagues'' to put aside their personal and political differences and think and act for the nation.

``A special session of the Parliament by mid-January to take steps on the economic crisis is the need of the hour and I urge all to accept this suggestion,'' she said. The special session of Parliament should debate steps needed to be taken to lay the groundwork for an economic recovery and pass legislation well in advance of the budget session. ``Wecannot wait till the budget to take such measures, or else salvation will become that much more difficult,'' she added.

Observing that ``even in this hour of crisis, many political leaders are busy scoring political points off each other rather than worrying about how to save the economy from collapse,'' she said. ``It appears as though some political parties are in fact looking forward to an economic crisis, so as to gain political advantage even at the cost of terrible suffering. Such a dog-eat-dog policy does not reflect well on the sincerity of their commitment towards the nation,'' she remarked.

Appealing to the Congress and the BJP to ensure that their ``bickering'' does not harm the people, she urged the Congress ``to be true to its history and ensure that legislation needed for economic stability and expansion gets passed.'' She suggested that the prime minister can discuss this along with the finance minister and with the leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha to evolve aconsensus. ``I also appeal to the Left parties to follow the example of China and support pragmatic policies that will promote rather than retard expansion,'' she added.

Stating that the economic crisis in South East Asia had had its fallout here, she said in India there has been a slump in industrial output, with a third of sectors registering negative growth.

``The only two indices that are relentlessly climbing up are the prices of essentials and non productive government expenditure,'' she remarked, adding, that due to the economic slowdown, many families have seen their breadwinners lose their jobs.

``Unless strong and corrective action is taken now, the country will plunge into economic depression,'' she said.