The Hindu : Gujarat needs a change of guard: Jayalalithaa

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 18, 2002

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Gujarat needs a change of guard: Jayalalithaa

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI APRIL 17. Breaking her silence on the Gujarat impasse, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa said today, ``it will be good'' if the Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, stepped down.

Urging the BJP and the Central Government to take appropriate action to end the imbroglio, she said Gujarat needed a ``change of guard'', and not fresh Assembly election.

Talking to the media at the Secretariat here, Ms.Jayalalithaa, who till now had parried queries on the Gujarat developments, said: ``It will be good if Mr.Modi quits office. For the past two days both the Houses of Parliament have remained paralysed over the Gujarat issue. It is the Centre which has to bring the impasse to an end...Also, normality has not returned to Gujarat either,'' she said.

Answering a question on whether she saw any reason to advance the Assembly elections in Gujarat, Ms. Jayalalithaa said she did not think there were valid reasons to do so. ``What is needed is a change of guard. It is up to the BJP and the Centre to take necessary steps,'' she added.

Ms. Jayalalithaa, who recently said in the Legislative Assembly that the Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi, and the DMK leader, Murasoli Maran, had a secret meeting in Delhi, refused to say that if the confabulations would lead to a ``realignment of political forces'' at the national level. ``There is nothing more to say (about the meeting). I gave the information I got''.

Asked if she perceived any threat to the NDA Government following the Telugu Desam Party's demand for Mr.Modi's resignation, she said: ``I do not want to comment...I would prefer to wait and watch further developments.''

On Kuwait seeking the extradition of Dalal Falag Al-Azmi, who had come to India on a fake passport, she said it was for the Centre to respond to the request. ``I only got the girl out on bail. It is up to the Centre to take necessary action now,'' she said.

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