Jaya hopes TMC, Cong will come round in a week

Jaya hopes TMC, Cong will come round in a week
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

CHENNAI, FEB 13: Defending the PMK's inclusion in the secular front, AIADMK general secretary J. Jayalalitha today hoped that the Congress and the TMC would reveal their stand on the alliance before this weekend.

At a press conference in the party headquarters, exuding confidence, Jayalalitha answered queries for more than a hour. She attributed the delay in the conversion of the secular front into an electoral alliance to the TMC and Congress. ``It is an important issue. Let them take their own time,'' she said, adding that her maha-alliance against the common enemy DMK would fructify ``very soon''.

Asked to name the second dominant partner in her front, she said her party respected and treated all parties as equals, adding that the numbers (seats) could be discussed later. Jayalalitha denied that she had promised the Pondicherry chief ministership to the PMK if the front was voted to power.ØReminding that the Congress had accepted PMK's support for the Palani Lok Sabha bypoll in 1993 and Pudukottai Assembly bypoll in 1997, Jayalalitha said the decision to induct the PMK into the front was part of her plan to form a ``mega alliance'' against the DMK.

Asked why she did not consult other parties before admitting the PMK into the front, Jayalalitha said she was surprised by the PMK's sudden decision to quit the NDA and join the AIADMK front. Though she agreed that Ramadoss spoke to her over phone for five days prior to the resignation of ministers from tghe NDA government, she claimed that Ramadoss had not confirmed his decision in advance.

Asked how her party could align with the PMK, which was known for its pro-LTTE stand, Jayalalitha said the PMK was only fighting for the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. ``It is demanding only separate Tamil eelam (homeland for Sri Lankan Tamils) and not separate Tamil Nadu. Any more questions on this should be addressed to Ramadoss,'' she said. Jayalalitha criticised the media for not having raised all these questions when a ``pro-LTTE'' PMK was in alliance with the DMK and BJP.

When mediapersons referred to her earlier statement that the association of a few persons had led to her downfall, and asked what was the state of her relationship with them, a visibly angry Jayalalitha refused to comment.

The AIADMK supremo quoted the Kerala Chief Minister's damaging remark that ``Tamil Nadu police were not willing to capture Veerappan'' to underline his unwillingness to nab the bandit. She also claimed that the Kerala police had sent a note to the Tamil Nadu police to return Veerappan's digital diary.

On the use of Electronic Voting Machines, Jayalalitha said even the technologically advanced nations like the United States and Japan had returned to ballot-box after experimenting with EVMs.