Tuesday, Apr 01, 2003
Tuesday, Apr 01, 2003 |
| Southern States | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Southern States
-
Tamil Nadu
By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau
In the Assembly, the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, said the State's role ended once it filed the charge sheet, in the Poonamallee special court, set up exclusively to deal with POTA cases. "Hence it would not be proper to discuss the issue when the matter was before the court." In the evening, after a meeting with the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, the MDMK presidium chairman, L. Ganesan, said his party was not satisfied with the action taken by the Union Government. It was only because of Mr. Karunanidhi's intervention that steps were taken to set right the mistake in the counter-affidavit filed in Mr. Vaiko's case in the Supreme Court. Mr. Karunanidhi said the MDMK leaders had come to thank him for his intervention. Earlier in the day, Mr. Ganesan, and the party treasurer, Gingee Ramachandran, met Mr. Vaiko in the Vellore prison. Making clear that the MDMK is casting its lot with the DMK, Mr. Vaiko said his party would work with it, as Dravidian ideals and ways of life were under threat under the AIADMK Government. Meanwhile, the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, reiterated that Mr. Vaiko's arrest "is a case of misapplication" of the law. He sought to downplay the controversy over the Centre's counter filed in the Supreme Court, and dismissed it as an `error'. "Only courageous people accept their mistakes." Asked whether passing the buck to "junior legal officers" did not reflect poorly on the Government, Mr. Naidu told presspersons here: "The matter is before the court. I am not for a debate. I am the president of the BJP and legal matters are not under my control. It is for the Government to react". Mr. Karunanidhi said he would accept the explanation that the legal officers were at fault. But the Centre should direct the State Government not to misuse the POTA. Toning down his rhetoric on repeal of the POTA, Mr. Karunanidhi said one should read what he said in the right context. The DMK was of the opinion that if the law was misused time and again by State Governments, it should be repealed. Today, the MDMK joined the DMK demanding the repeal, and said the DMK's stand on the POTA was ``correct''. Hence it should be welcomed ``one hundred per cent''. On this demand, Mr. Naidu said: "He (Mr. Karunanidhi) has expressed his view and our view is that the law is required". He shrugged off a query whether the DMK leader's demand was a precursor to that party leaving the NDA. "He is a man of guts. If he wants to convey anything, he will say it openly. This is my perception of Dr. Kalaignar." Asked whether Mr. Karunanidhi had been informed of the Government's stand on the Vaiko case, Mr. Naidu said "the communication went to him directly and not through the media". On his part, Mr. Karunanidhi did not rule out further protests to secure the release of Mr. Vaiko. But the future course would be decided only after consultations with the parties which participated in a fast earlier.
Printer friendly
page
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
|
|
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | Home |
Copyright © 2003, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
