Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

`Cong. duty-bound to throw out AIADMK Govt.'

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai April 14. As the Opposition versus the ruling AIADMK battle takes a hostile turn, the State Congress working president, E.V.K.S.Elangovan, today injected a stronger dose of acrimony, declaring that the duty of the Congress was to throw out the Jayalalithaa regime.

Mr.Elangovan, who recently demanded the ouster of the AIADMK regime, a plea that has not found vocal support from the main opposition, the DMK, went a step further, virtually calling for a mission to "rescue" Tamil Nadu from the present administration.

"It was the Congress which fought and won freedom for the country. And, it is the duty of the Congressmen to save Tamil Nadu as well," Mr.Elangovan said, participating in a function here to release a book on Kamaraj and mark the birth anniversary of B.R.Ambedkar.

Insisting that the Congress had no personal animosity towards the AIADMK or its leadership, he said, "We are only opposing the Government because it is anti-people."

Reacting to the party spokesman, Peter Alphonse's remark earlier at the function that the Congress must identify its political enemy clearly and that it could not afford to fling stones at night, the TNCC working president said, " there is no doubt about who the enemy is".

Anyone who was "anti-people" or who "blocked the progress of Tamil Nadu" was the enemy of the Congress, he said, insisting that the AIADMK Government's only achievements were arresting its opponents, raiding their houses and detaining them under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He also took a dig at the erstwhile DMK Ministers, who, he claimed, left no trace of evidence of their "scientific corruption", when the police searched their houses.

Party MLAs flayed

Mr. Elangovan also chose to lash out at two party MLAs, who did not participate in the joint protest of Opposition legislators outside the Secretariat on Thursday, after they were evicted en masse. Without naming them, he said, " they have not only betrayed the party, but also the people".

In an attempt at showing his new-found cordiality with the TNCC president, S.Balakrishnan, Mr.Elangovan hailed him for "infusing confidence among Congressmen" of restoring Kamaraj rule in Tamil Nadu.

Addressing party workers, the AICC central election committee president and senior Congress leader, Ram Niwas Mirdha, called upon every cadre in the State to strengthen the hands of the State Congress leadership and work towards bringing back Kamaraj rule. "Mr.Balakrishnan and Mr.Elangovan are doing well. You should strengthen their hands."

The TNCC president, S.Balakrishnan, said the Congress, if brought back to power, would include in school syllabus the book released today on Kamaraj, Sarithra Nayagan Kamarajar, authored by Sivalai Illamathi.

The former Union Minister, Jayanthi Natarajan appealed to Congressmen to take a vow to bring back Kamaraj rule.

The party's traders' cell chairman, H.Vasantha Kumar, spoke.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• POTA to be invoked against Gopal
• `Cong. duty-bound to throw out AIADMK Govt.'
• Truckers strike near-total in TN
• Central-Egmore link project stone-laying tomorrow
• The snake that won't even hiss
• STF sniffer dogs begin their hunt for Veerappan
• Ponnaiyan clarifies
• New Kancheepuram-Chennai BG EMU flagged off
• DPI cadres change names, protesting conversion law
• Move court to bail out arrested leaders, says Karunanidhi
• LPG supplies may be hit
• Computers in police stations, but connectivity not now

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu