Jaya’s Delhi bolt: PC lost,must quit

Asked at her news conference whether the ADMK had “gone soft” on its complaint against Chidambaram’s election,Jayalalithaa said,“The position of the Union Home Minister is untenable. He had not won the parliament seat. Chidambaram had lost the election in 2009. He was elected in a fraudulent way. Our candidate had won the election.”

Asked if the home minister should resign,she said,“He should definitely resign… He has played a fraud on the nation.”

Chidambaram was declared elected from Sivaganga by a margin of 3,354 votes over former ADMK minister R S Rajakannappan after two recounts that followed a tension-charged count,during which both candidates gained and lost slender leads,and claimed victory.

Rajakannappan approached Madras High Court with an election petition asking for Chidambaram’s victory to be declared void. The case is pending. In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner last month,Jayalalithaa alleged that data entry operators had swapped Chidambaram’s and Rajakannappan’s votes in certain segments.

In a sharp reaction to Jayalalithaa’s statement today,Chidambaram said the chief minister had a habit of “starting on the wrong foot”. Jayalalithaa,he alleged,“has always had utter contempt for court proceedings and hence her statement today is not at all surprising”.

Chidambaram said Rajakannappan’s petition is still pending — “Her statement is therefore,in gross contempt of court.” He recalled that Rajakannappan had also contested the recent Assembly election and lost from one of the segments in Sivaganga. “Perhaps,she would say that that election result was also fraudulent,” Chidambaram said.

At her news conference — called after her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh,during which she brought up issues of Tamil Nadu — Jaya was scathing on the DMK.

She demanded that Textiles Minister Dayanidhi Maran resign in the light of recent allegations against him,and likened the DMK’s rule to that of Hitler’s in Germany or Idi Amin’s in Uganda. She added,however,that she was not looking for an opportunity to file cases against members of the Karunanidhi government.

On her earlier offer of unconditional support to the UPA,Jayalalithaa said,“That offer was made seven months ago. The situation was entirely different. After that,much water has flown under the bridge. The Congress has made it clear that its alliance continues with DMK. So the question of my offering support simply does not arise.”

Given continuing Congress-DMK ties,she said,“it would not be appropriate for me to call on Sonia Gandhi who is also the Congress president.”

To persistent questions,she said the onus was now on the Congress to approach her. “If anyone wants my support,they have to ask.”