Why did DMK ally with BJP if it was against 'kar seva', asks Jayalalithaa

Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu: Hitting back at DMK chief M Karunanidhi over his charge that she had sent volunteers for 'kar seva' in Ayodhya, AIADMK general secretary and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday questioned as to why his party had tied up with BJP in the past if he was so opposed to the saffron outfit.

Addressing an election rally here, Jayalalithaa said that Karunanidhi had levelled the charge with the sole aim of securing the minority votes for his party.

"If Karunanidhi is against kar seva, why did he ally with BJP?" she asked.

Holding that there was not an iota of truth in the DMK leader's charges, she said, "BJP supported kar seva. BJP sent men for kar seva. Didn't Karunanidhi have an alliance with that party?"

DMK was part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre between 1999 and 2003. "If Karunanidhi is against kar seva, why did he ally with BJP? Why did he participate in their government? Wasn't it in that government that Murasoli Maran was a minister without a portfolio? So, on what basis is Karunanidhi talking?

"I ask you to defeat Karunanidhi for his political opportunism?" she said to the cheering crowd.

She came down heavily on the Congress-led UPA government, saying that the frequent hike in prices of petrol and diesel and the new agricultural policy was the cause behind the price rise of essential commodities and food items.

She accused the UPA government and DMK of having 'betrayed' the people of the state over the past 10 years on various issues like the retrieval of Katchatheevu and the matter involving Sri Lankan Tamils.