15 June,2011 07:22 AM IST | | Agencies
While Jayalalitha contended that Chidambaram could not continue as a minister because of his 'fraudulent victory' in 2009 LS polls, he hit back saying her remarks were in contempt of court
Otherwise appearing soft on Congress, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa yesterday attacked Home Minister P Chidambaram and demanded his resignation for his "fraudulent victory" in the Lok Sabha election but he hit back saying her remarks amounted to "gross contempt of court".
Jayalalithaa adresses journalists in New Delhi. Chidambaram
"Our party has always maintained that Mr Chidambaram's victory was through fraudulent means... his continuance in the Union Council of Ministers is untenable," she told a press conference here.
"Mr Chidambaram was never elected to Parliament in 2009. He has played a fraud on the nation. Our party's candidate won the election," she said.
Jayalalithaa was asked whether her party had gone "soft" on the case filed by AIADMK candidate Rajakannapan against Chidambaram's victory in Sivaganga constituency in the 2009 elections.
The Chief Minister alleged that Chidambaram was announced the successful candidate because of a fraud committed by a data entry operator.
Reacting to Jayalalithaa's statement, Chidambaram said she has the habit of "starting on the wrong foot". "She has always had utter contempt for court proceedings and hence her statement today is not at all surprising," he said in a statement.
He said, "She knows that her candidate Rajakannappan has filed an election petition in the Madras High Court and that is pending since September 2009. Her statement is, therefore, in gross contempt of court."
The Home Minister said Rajakannappan had also contested the Assembly elections last month and lost from one of the segments falling under his parliamentary constituency Sivaganga.
"Perhaps she would say that that election result was also fraudulent," he said.
Jayalalithaa was carping in her criticism of Chidambaram while she chose to be soft on Congress and the central government in response to various questions.
'DMK regime like that of hitler'
People in Tamil Nadu voted out the DMK because they felt they were living in Hitler's Germany or Idi Amin's Uganda, Jayalalithaa said yesterday.
The DMK regime curbed media freedom and "people felt they were living in Hitler's Germany, under Mussolini or in Idi Amin's Uganda", she told the press after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
"There was no power, in most places no drinking water. The whole of Tamil Nadu had become one big garbage dump.
"The only thing everyone in power did was to amass money. People decided they had had enough."
She blamed the "all pervading corruption" on the DMK.
"(There was) total lack of governance, nepotism, domination of one family, not just in all areas of governance but in every business and every trade. Everything was monopolised by one family."
