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Only appointment in Madras is with C Subramaniam, says Pawar

Senior Congressman and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sharad Pawar on Sunday denied that he would be meeting All India Anna DMK general secretary J Jayalalitha, whose party is a constituent of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition at the Centre, during his three-day visit to Madras.

Pawar also denied that his visit had anything to do with the merger of the Tamil Maanila Congress with the Congress party. "I am not meeting anybody," he added.

He said he had come to Madras at the invitation of former Maharashtra governor C Subramaniam, for an exchange of ideas about the Presidential form of government.

Asked whether he thought the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu had deteriorated, warranting the dismissal of the state government as demanded by Jayalalitha, Pawar said he was not up to-date on the situation in the state. "I do not prefer to comment on it as I do not have full knowledge," he added.

When his attention was drawn to AICC general secretary V Narayanaswamy's recent statement that the law and order situation in Tamil Nadu had deteriorated, Pawar said, "Maybe he knows better than me."

UNI

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