Jaya slams UPA for wrong policies

Chennai: The country could become stronger only when the sta­tes remained strong, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa sa­id, lashing out at the Centre for thrusting crises upon the nation by pursuing ‘wrong economic policies’ and for ‘trampling on state autonomy’.

These policies, which we­re being pursued since the last 20 years, should be ch­anged and a caring government with new thoughts should come to power at the Centre, she added.

She was speaking on Thursday on the eve of AI­ADMK founder M.G. Ra­ma­chandran’s 97th birth ann­iversary when she appealed to her party cadres to win all the 39 Lok Sabha seats in the state and one in Puducherry to bring a cha­nge of guard at the Centre.

“With this victory (in the polls), the AIADMK will be­c­ome a massive power, de­ciding the future of India,” she said in her message to her party men while paying rich tributes to her mentor and former chief minister Ramachandran.

Tamil Nadu, which had be­­en persistently ignored for years by the Centre, should get justice. “If the state has to develop in all sp­heres and emerge as nu­m­ber one among other In­dian states, then a Central government that respects our word should be for­m­ed,” Jayalalithaa said, underscoring the need for greater regional autonomy to facilitate better growth of the states.

Taking potshots at DMK president M. Karunanidhi, she said he had, until rec­ently, supported the Con­gress-led UPA government which had not ensured dev­el­opment. Further, the chi­ef minister pointed out th­at despite the DMK’s par­ti­c­ip­ation in most of the Un­ion cabinets in the last 17 ye­­­ars of Ce­ntral governnance, TN had not benefi­t­ed at all. “Ind­i­an re­pu­blic would have be­en ma­de str­onger only if the sta­tes are strengthened,” she said.