Several Congressmen were taken into custody, including some legislators, after they got into a scuffle with AIADMK partymen. According to the police, Congress workers led by MLAs K Vishnuprasad, Arul Anbarasu and Vijaykumar, attempted to picket the Poes Garden area without prior permission.

The flag-carrying Congressmen raised slogans against Jayalalithaa, condemning her for her “derogatory” remarks against Singh. As news of the proposed agitation spread, an equally large number of AIADMK men, led by former Minister D Jayakumar, arrived near their party leader’s house, barring the agitating Congressmen from proceeding further. This led to a scuffle between the two groups and one AIADMK partyman suffered minor injuries.

Elsewhere in the city, Congress workers attempted to burn Jayalalithaa’s effigy, leading to more than 100 workers being rounded up by the police in different parts of the city.

On Sunday, Jayalalithaa in a rather strongly-worded statement, accused the Prime Minister of “actively working against the country’s sovereignty” and “lying” in Parliament about the Indo-US nuclear deal. A strident critic of the deal herself, Jayalalithaa said the Prime Minister had been “dangerously subverting India’s sovereignty in a sinister way”.

She alleged an “American nexus” in every foreign visit he made since assuming office three years ago, and in every foreign deal he had signed and every leader he had met. She demanded that he resign from office forthwith, adding: “Every additional day you are in power is a test for India’s independence and sovereignty. You can emigrate to the US, where your daughter and son-in-law have citizenship rights.”

The harsh statement had infuriated Congressmen in the state who demanded that she withdraw her remarks immediately or face “a siege” at her house.

Road named after Rajiv Gandhi

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu Government on Friday renamed the Old Mahabalipuram Road in the city as Rajiv Gandhi Road. An official press release said Chief Minister and DMK President

M Karunanidhi had accepted the request of TNCC President M Krishnasamy in this regard.