New Delhi: Accusing Home Minister P. Chidambaram of getting himself elected to Parliament through “fraudulent” means, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said his continuance in the Union Council of Ministers was untenable and sought his resignation.
“Our party has always maintained that Mr. Chidambaram’s victory was through fraudulent means...his continuance in the Union Council of Minsters is untenable,” Ms. Jayalalithaa told reporters at her maiden press conference in New Delhi after assuming office last month.
“Mr. Chidambaram was never elected to Parliament in 2009. He has played a fraud on the nation. Our party candidate won the election,” she said when pressed further on the issue.
The Chief Minister alleged that Mr. Chidambaram was announced the successful candidate because of a fraud committed by a data entry operator.
She also said that Dayanidhi Maran should step down from the Union Cabinet over allegations of quid pro quo in the 2G scam and if he does not do on his own, the Prime Minister should drop him.
On whether there was a possibility of Congress and AIADMK coming together again, Ms. Jayalalithaa said the DMK and Congress continue to be partners and both parties have been maintaining their alliance.
Asked whether she was open to the idea of aligning with the Congress in the event of the DMK walking out, she said, “I cannot answer hypothetical questions.”
To a question whether she would meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, she said as of today, Congress still has an alliance with the DMK and Congress and DMK continue to be partners in the coalition government at the Centre.
“In such a situation, it would not be appropriate for me to call on Sonia Gandhi.”
To a volley of questions on whether Congress and AIADMK could come together again and whether her offer of support to Congress made in November, 2010 is still open, she said the situation has completely changed since then.
“Much water has flown down the bridge. The offer was made in a different situation,” she said.
Earlier, during her meeting with the Prime Minister, she proposed sending a delegation of Tamil Nadu MLAs to Sri Lanka to see for themselves the condition in which Sri Lankan Tamils displaced due to the decades-old civil war are living.