Chennai: The 'International Women's Day' was celebrated with robust energy at the DMDK headquarters here with party treasurer Premalatha exhibiting brilliant patches of belligerence in taking on the DMK leadership as well as the Fourth Estate, accusing both of them of improper conduct. In the process, the wife of Captain courted high-voltage controversy and ended up as the central figure in most of the Tamil TV channels debating on whether her fury was justified and if the 'abusive' language she used was pardonable.
Addressing a press conference, Premalatha seemed repeatedly slipping into indiscretion while handling tricky and embarrassing questions relating to her party's negotiations for poll alliance, particularly when someone quizzed about the propriety in talking to both the AIADMK and the DMK.
She shot back saying the DMDK never talked alliance with the DMK, that she had only said DMK president M K Stalin had talked politics when he visited her husband Vijayakanth and she did not say they discussed poll alliance.
And as for the delay in signing up with the AIADMK-BJP camp, Premalatha maintained that the problem arose because the AIADMK as the lead player made the mistake of completing the deals with the BJP and the PMK before knocking at Captain's door. It had been the practice earlier that all the parties are seated together and the alliance hammered out at one go. Why was it not done this time, she demanded to know.
In any case, the dialogue with the AIADMK was going on well and "we will call you in a couple of days to give you the entire picture, including the constituencies", insisted Premalatha.
But in the process of all this heated interaction, the lady lost her cool a few times. The media was not particularly amused; in fact, some journalist bodies even came out with statements condemning her addressing the journalists at her conference in demeaning terms and at one point even telling them they hang outside her gates round the clock.
Premalatha also trained her guns at senior DMK leader Durai Murugan who had said the DMDK had sought accommodation in his party-led alliance, amidst the protracted delay in conclusion of the AIADMK-DMDK talks earlier.
The DMDK leaders who had gone to his house had made it clear that they went on 'personal' work which was reiterated by Sutheesh (her brother) on Thursday, she said, and asked why Durai Murugan had spoken otherwise. "DMK has always targeted DMDK. Can Durai Murugan clarify on the unsavoury remarks he had made against his party leadership with Sutheesh?" she asked.
To a question, she said her party would strive for the welfare of the state irrespective of the alliance that it would be in, and recalled the famous standoff between Vijayakanth, then Leader of Opposition, and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the Assembly, despite being allies. The DMDK founder had then spoken in the interest of the people, she said referring to the incident that turned out to be a flashpoint and led to the two parties later parting ways.
