CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa warned people that if the DMK-Congress combine was voted back to power then the state would become a desert.
Addressing an election campaign for Tiruvallur constituency candidate Dr P Venugopal at Avadi on Saturday, she said chief minister M Karunanidhi had stalled a number of drinking water and rain water harvesting schemes beneficial to the state and added that the mindless sand quarrying from the rivers would result in the death of natural water sources.
Accusing the Chief Minister of his failure on all fronts of the governance, she said the government failed to check the rising prices of essential commodities and also on the law and order front.
Jayalalithaa said the state’s progress had retarded during the DMK-supported regime at the Centre. She alleged that the DMK representative in the Union Cabinet, like the Telecom Minister A Raja and the state ministers were involved in rampant corruption. She also reminded the voters that she never tolerated corruption and hesitated to take action during her regime.
The former chief minister promised that if voted to power, her party would take steps to end sand quarrying at the river beds of Aarani and Kusasthalai. She also promised a railway overbridge at Kadambathur and a subway near Avadi railway station. She said she would also take up the issue of halting of express trains at Avadi station. Her announcement that she would try to restart the construction of Tsunami houses in Pazhaverkkadu was welcomed with loud cheers by the crowd.
‘PM must clarify Indira’s action in Bangladesh’: Earlier, speaking to the media after her Vyasarpadi rally on Saturday, the AIADMK chief refuted speculation that she is in talks with the BJP and Congress for post-poll alliances and commented upon the Prime Minister’s views on the Lanka.
She said Prime Minister must clarify Indira Gandhi’s action in Bangladesh if he takes the view that a separate Eelam is not possible. Earlier in the day the Prime Minister had said that sending the military to a sovereign nation was difficult.
Asked whether the Congress or BJP had approached her for a possible post-poll alliance she said, “I am not the sort of leader who will hold parleys with other parties when in an alliance. Now we are in an alliance with the Left parties. There is no question of bypassing alliance partners and holding secret parleys with other parties.