ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Storm gathering over BJP government, says Karunanidhi

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi today said the possibility of an alternative government at the Centre had gained momentum in the wake of the strained relations between the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally, the All India Anna DMK.

Talking to newsmen in Madras, he indicated that the fall of the BJP-led coalition government and fresh elections to Parliament were imminent, and likened this to the gathering of a cyclonic storm on the political horizon.

"The storm has intensified after the tussle between the two coalition partners and it is anybody's guess when it will hit the coast", he quipped.

Asked if the DMK would extend support to the Congress in the event of the latter forming an alternative government, he said his party was measuring the velocity of the storm and he did not want to make any hasty prediction on the weather conditions.

The party would take a decision in accordance with the situation and in consultation with the United Front at an appropriate time, he said.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said his earlier remark that a fresh election to Parliament was imminent still held good and was, in fact, more relevant now.

Asked about the scathing attack on Union Home Minister L K Advani by AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalitha yesterday, Karunanidhi said the AIADMK leader had shown her "true nature" to the world by dubbing Advani as an "anti-national" and allowing her party workers to burn the effigy of Prime Minister A B Vajpayee.

Just because the BJP-led government had turned down her demand for dismissal of the DMK government, she had mounted the attack on Advani, whom she had praised once, he said.

Some might argue that the AIADMK's criticism of the BJP was born out of its self-respect, but the people of the country and the world would know it is pure selfishness, he added.

Jayalalitha had come down hard on the BJP leadership as she was frustrated that her sole aim of dismissing his government had not materialised, Karunanidhi said.

She was dreaming that if the DMK government was dismissed, she could extricate herself from the corruption cases filed by the state government and the foreign exchange violation cases filed by the central agencies, he added.

Asked if the BJP should continue in power with the support of the AIADMK after such a frontal attack by its ally, he quipped: "Your question is justified, but it is posed to the wrong person."

UNI

Tell us what you think of this report