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Protests against Jayalalithaa's remarks

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD SEPT. 3. The Congress today held noisy demonstrations against the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, today for her remarks on the Congress president, Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin at the AIAMDK chief's farm house on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Congress functionaries gathered near the farm house, raised slogans and burnt an effigy of Ms. Jayalalithaa. They also staged a `rasta roko' condemning her tirade and hailing Ms. Gandhi's leadership.

Earlier, at Gandhi Bhavan, the PCC president, M. Satyanarayana Rao, the PCC chief spokesperson, K. Rosaiah, the Mahila Congress president, Geeta Reddy, the general secretary, P. Sudhakara Reddy and others lashed out at Ms. Jayalalithaa for her comments against Ms. Gandhi.

If Ms. Gandhi could not become the Prime Minister on the ground of her foreign origin, Ms. Jayalalithaa had no right either to become the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister as she was a "Kannadiga", they said. Unlike Ms. Jayalalithaa who was "thrust on the people", Ms. Gandhi came into politics after Congress leaders pleaded her to do so. Besides, she led the party to victory in 14 States. She had endeared herself to the people through her sacrifice, they said.

Asking Ms. Jayalalithaa "to mind her own business'', they said any attempt by her to campaign against Ms. Gandhi would lead to bitter consequences and she would not be allowed to "step out of her home'' even in Tamil Nadu. Accusing her of being "hand in glove" with the Hindutva forces, they said there was a "bigger design" to the attempt. D. Srinivas, deputy leader of the CLP, wondered whether the Union Law Minister met her for three hours just before Ms. Jayalalithaa began her tirade against Ms. Gandhi.

Our Tirupati Special Correspondent writes:

The PCC secretary, B. Karunakar Reddy, said that Congress activists would "checkmate" the entry of Ms. Jayalalithaa and her senior party colleagues into Tirupati-Tirumala to protest against her "wild insinuations" against Ms. Gandhi. "We would stop them, gherao them and would hold agitations if they (AIADMK functionaries) land in Tirupati," he said.

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