The Hindu : AIADMK to abstain from voting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 19, 2003

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AIADMK to abstain from voting

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai Aug. 18. The AIADMK, which has 11 MPs in the Lok Sabha, will not take part in the debate and voting on the Congress-sponsored no-confidence motion against the Vajpayee Government.

After a meeting of the AIADMK executive here today, the general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, announced that the party would ``abstain'' from voting. ``They (BJP-led National Democratic Alliance) have not sought our support. There is no need for us to offer support on our own volition. And as far as we can see the Government is not in danger,'' Ms. Jayalalithaa told the media at the party headquarters here.

Asked if any NDA leader contacted her, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Defence Minister and NDA convener, George Fernandes, had phoned her up on Saturday.

``However, I was not at home. I did not know why he called,'' she said. As of now, none from the NDA had sought her support and there was no necessity to offer unsolicited support, she said.

``I do not want to speculate,'' she replied to a query if the NDA had not sought her support following protests from the DMK. To a question on the reasons for the DMK deciding to vote against the motion after sending contrary signals, all she would say was: ``This question should be posed to Mr. Karunanidhi.''

Common civil code

Earlier, the meeting adopted a resolution in favour of ``immediately'' bringing in legislation on uniform civil code in Parliament. Lauding Ms. Jayalalithaa for declaring that only a uniform code would ensure true equality for everyone, the resolution said. The party would back such legislation. ``If everyone is equal before law, the laws should also be equal to everyone,'' the party executive said insisting that a uniform law for all citizens was essential from the viewpoints of political, social and natural justice.

The AIADMK executive condoled the death of Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas leader, Mahant Paramahans Ramachandradas, who steered a movement for building a Ram temple at Ayodhya; the cosmonaut, Kalpana Chawla, and the Iranian twins, Laden and Laleh, who died following a surgery to separate them.

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