Saturday, Jul 20, 2002
Saturday, Jul 20, 2002 |
| Front Page | ||
|
News:
Front Page |
National |
Southern States |
Other States |
International |
Opinion |
Business |
Sport |
Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | Front Page
By Our Tamil Nadu Bureau
The Defence Minister, George Fernandes, coming out of the Vellore Central Jail after meeting the MDMK leader, Vaiko, on Friday. — Photo: A. Muralidharan
The pro-LTTE speech in Madurai did not attract the provisions of POTA and, therefore, this arrest was a violation, Mr. Fernandes said after calling on Mr. Vaiko at the Vellore jail. ``I do not think what has happened to Mr.Vaiko falls within the ambit of POTA. He should not have been here (in the jail). POTA has been violated in this case (the arrest of Mr. Vaiko). The NDA has already made its stand very clear that this was not the purpose of POTA,'' he told mediapersons in Vellore. For now, the Centre had no plans to intervene in the issue. Nor was any action being contemplated against the Tamil Nadu Government, which, according to him, had misused POTA. ``Mr. Vaiko is a revolutionary. He does not need our support or anyone's help.'' Asked about corrective measures to prevent "misuse" of POTA, he said ``I am of the opinion that at some point of time, the courts will have to decide on this.''
Cancels appointments with CM, DMK chief
On his return to Chennai, Mr. Fernandes did not keep two appointments, one with the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, and another, with the DMK president and long-time friend, M. Karunanidhi. The ``official explanation'' for the cancellation of the meeting with Ms. Jayalalithaa, was that Mr. Fernandes was ``summoned'' by the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, immediately to Delhi. Ms. Jayalalithaa said that Mr. Fernandes had sought the meeting, which was later called off on his receiving the summons from the Prime Minister. Mr. Fernandes had close to two hours of free time at Vellore, and one hour in Chennai, before he left for Delhi. MDMK sources say Mr. Vaiko would have been uncomfortable with a meeting between the two as it would have given the impression that Mr. Fernandes was pleading his case with Ms. Jayalalithaa. The ``summons'' was also cited as the explanation for cancelling the meeting with Mr. Karunanidhi. In a related development, the MDMK has written to the Madras High Court Registrar stating that Mr. Vaiko and the party had ``nothing to do'' with the public interest litigations filed against his POTA detention. ``It appears that these PILs could have been filed for seeking publicity,'' the MDMK's legal wing secretary, Devadas, said in a statement here. Apparently, Mr. Vaiko is sticking to his stand that he would not seek bail, and that he was against any political intervention on his behalf by the NDA.
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 | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu
|
