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“Priyanka-Nalini meeting took place with Karunanidhi’s knowledge”

— Photo: V. Ganesan

AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa addressing an election meeting at Vyasarpadi in Chennai on Saturday.

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to reveal the mystery behind the meeting between Priyanka Gandhi and Nalini, an accused in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

“There is a suspicion that the Sri Lankan military stepped up its offensive against the Tamils only after the meeting between the two,” she said while campaigning for PMK’s Sriperumbudur candidate A.K.Moorthy, AIADMK’s Tiruvallur candidate P. Venugopal and the CPI’s North Chennai candidate D. Pandian.

“What is the mystery behind the meeting? Who gave permission to it? What transpired between the two,” she asked and alleged that the Chief Minister remained silent when these questions were raised.

Stating that the meeting took place with the knowledge of the Chief Minister, she said he should explain to the world what transpired between the two.

Describing as “drama” the Chief Minister’s promise that he would take steps to create a separate Eelam, she wondered how it would be possible for Mr. Karunanidhi, who did nothing when he enjoyed power at the Centre and in the State, to achieve it when his government was facing a crisis.

Later, in a brief chat with reporters, she refuted the reports that the BJP had opened backroom channels with the AIADMK and the Congress was keeping its options open as far as the AIADMK was concerned.

Making it clear that she was with the Left, she said she did not believe in bypassing them. “I am not holding secret parleys with other political parties,” she added.

“Till May 16, I am not even giving a thought to a probable post-poll alliance. My concentration is on winning all the 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry,” she said.

Asked about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s argument that India could not send its army to Sri Lanka to help the Tamils, she said the Prime Minister should explain how Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent the Indian Army to East Bengal. As for the claim of the Prime Minister that India supplied only defensive arms and not offensive arms that could be used against the civilians, she said, “Arms are arms, whether they are offensive or defensive.”

At the meeting, Ms. Jayalalithaa said she would not surrender the interests of the State before the Centre as Mr. Karunanidhi did. “On the contrary, I would fight for the rights of Tamil Nadu. I am not selfish. I don’t have a family of my own. I have no one else except you,” she said.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said if she made a promise, she would fulfil it at any cost. She recalled how she implemented the new Veeranam project to supply water to Chennai. “The critics of the project, including Mr. Karunanidhi, are drinking the water,” she quipped.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said the Congress-led UPA government was responsible for the economic recession and the increase in terrorist activities. “The DMK, which is supporting the Congress-led government, also must share the responsibility,” she said.